


After Midnight

by justanotherpipedream



Series: After Midnight [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Blood Drinking, Blood Magic, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Bucky Barnes, Elemental Magic, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Referenced amputation, Witch Tony Stark, demon steve rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-01-04 21:42:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18352274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherpipedream/pseuds/justanotherpipedream
Summary: Tony is content living his perfectly normal life, with his perfectly normal job. He has his bots, his friends and his average sized apartment, what more could he ask for? Of course that's when a demon shows up on his door, asking to make a deal.What kind of demon goes by the name of 'Bucky' anyways?Apparently, someone's been capturing demons and forcing them into familiars against their will. Bucky was concerned that's what happened to his demon friend and sometimes lover, Steve. Bucky, with a reluctant Tony's help, work together to figure out what's been happening to the demons all around the city.





	1. The Hermit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepoverwork](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepoverwork/gifts).



> For the lovely Mei - thanks for being so patient with me! I hope you enjoy it! Special thanks to Cinna, APerson and TeaganJ42 for reading parts of this over - I really appreciate all your help and kind words! 
> 
> And to clarify pairings - this will be a primarily Winteriron story, but there will be bits of Stuckony towards the end. 
> 
> I'll be posting updates twice a week for this one - Thursdays and Mondays, so be sure to subscribe to be notified of updates!

 

“-and lucky for you kids, it looks like our time is up. If you have any questions, I’ll be around for a while after class today. Any last questions?”

Tony tossed the stress ball in the air, catching it as he scanned the crowd for any raised hands. The students giggled as DUM-E beeped at them from the front of the class. Tony shook his head with a smile. “We’ll talk later DUM-E. Looks like I’ll hand you all back to your professor then. And yes, you can all come down and take pictures with DUM-E if you want. The only condition being that you all have to give him a high five.”

Ignoring the giggles from the audience, Bruce cleared his throat and stepped to the front of the classroom. “If there are no last questions for Dr. Stark, please join me in thanking him for joining us today.”

Enthusiastic claps filled the air as the students cheered for their guest lecturer. Bruce waited until the applause died down. “If you have any questions for Dr. Stark, feel free to stay a few minutes. Otherwise, don’t forget that your lab reports are due by the end of the week. You can find me during office hours for any last questions. See you next class..”

The rustle of books and laughter filled the air as the students gathered their things and started filling out of the lecture hall. To no one’s surprise, a long line of students with their phones out formed, eager to take their selfies with the bot.

After answering a few questions from students that stuck around, Bruce finally approached him with a grin.

‘Thanks again Tony,” smiled Bruce, “they always enjoy your lessons.”

Tony grinned. “No problem Brucie Bear. We all know the real star of the show though.”

They both glanced over to DUM-E, who was posing enthusiastically with the last few students in line. Bruce chuckled. “He’s loving all the attention. Where did he get the party hat from?”

“Rhodey gave it to him yesterday,” replied Tony with a fond roll of his eyes, “Rhodey brings him a new hat every time he visits, so DUM-E’s e been trying new ones on every week.”

Bruce bit back a laugh. “Of course he is. And I didn’t realize Jim was due back so soon. How long is he back for?”

“Yeah, he dropped in for a surprise visit. He said he’d be here for the rest of the week. You should join us for dinner later tonight if you’re free.”

Bruce sighed, gesturing to the giant folder of papers in his bag. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to pass. I want to try getting all these labs graded before their midterm next week. Sometime this week?”

Tony sighed, but nodded his head. “Jane and Helen can’t make it either, so we’ll work something out later this week.”

“That works for me.” Bruce glanced at his watch with a wince. “I’ve got a meeting in a little while so I’ll catch you later. Thanks again for doing this, I owe you one Tony. I’m sorry I can’t walk you back-”

Tony waved him off. “I’ve got DUM-E to keep me company. I’ll catch you later.”

With a wave, Bruce left the class. Tony swung his messenger bag over his shoulder and wandered over to DUM-E. The last few students thanked him as he approached, waving as they left for their next class. Tony patted DUM-E’s arm with his gloved hand.

“Alright DUM-E, let’s go back to the office.”

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Tony trudged back to his office, patiently waiting every once in a while for DUM-E to catch up. DUM-E always loved to whistle and wave to people passing by, so it took 10 minutes longer than usual for Tony to get back to his lab.

With a wave to Darcy who chatted on the phone, he reached behind the desk to snag the mail key. With a click, he grabbed the giant stack of mail stuffed in his inbox. Even in this day and age, for some reason, Tony still ended up getting stacks and stacks of mail. He reached in, surprised to find a small package at the back.

He held it under his arm before snagging the rest of his mail. With a last wave to Darcy, who gave him a wave goodbye, he turned back to DUM-E. “Almost home bud, let’s go.”

He held the door open for DUM-E, flicking the light switch on with his arm. “I think it’s time for some charging time huh? Off to bed with you now.”

With a series of beeps DUM-E moved obediently to his corner and with a final wave, he tucked himself into his charger for the night. Tony tossed the armful of mail onto the overflowing stack of papers, before turning back towards the package.

Huh. Sharon normally only sends him packages twice a year, for his birthday and Christmas,and never to his work, so this was a surprise. He leaned back in his chair, pulling open one of the drawers in his desk, pushing aside the various screwdrivers and knick knacks until he could find-aha. He flicked the pocket knife open and sliced the envelope open.

A small bundle was wrapped in a note. As Tony unwravelled it, a small black box tumbled into his hand. The purple ink of the note caught his eye and Tony shook his head fondly. His cousin always insisted on signing her name in purple when they were younger, and he was glad to see that hasn’t changed, even all these years later.

The paper was thick and of high quality, and Tony blinked in surprise, instantly recognized the golden lion letterhead at the top of the page. It was rare for Sharon to use the Carter family’s official stamp. He quickly scanned the letter.

_Hey Tony,_

_Only a few months away until Christmas! Aunt Peggy is already talking about trying to convince you to fly out a week earlier, so get a larger luggage than that tiny duffel bag of yours. Or you know, you could just pack better. Which means_ ** _not_** _filling half of your luggage with books. I thought I’d send you a bit of an early Christmas gift since I know you love puzzles._

The rest of the page was blank, and Tony could feel a headache developing.

Sharon was being extra careful with this one. He grabbed the knife off his desk and pricked his pinky. He pressed the drop of blood on top of lion. Seconds later, the lion roared to life on the page. Where the letter was previously blank, words started to appear, flashing a bright gold before turning back into the familiar purple ink, the familiar thrum of Sharon’s magic still lingering.

The rest of the letter continued.

_Before you roll your eyes and toss in a drawer somewhere, just know that I honestly tried to free him before sending it your way. No matter how much you want to pretend to ignore your gift, this one needs help. If you really can’t do it, pack it with you. I’ll figure something else out._

_Love,_ _  
_ _Sharon_

Tony unraveled the bundle carefully, trying not to touch whatever’s inside directly. Memories of having cursed toads jump at his face as part of a prank had Tony cautiously unfolding the ‘gift’.

Tony inhaled sharply. A small black stone lay in the middle of the cloth, a bright red star faintly glowing in the center, almost pulsing as Tony reached out to touch it...

With a flail, Tony folded the letter once again, shoving it into the drawer next to the wrapped bundle. Tony carefully wrapped the stone back before shoving it into his desk drawer, tossing the brown package paper into the trash can.

Nope, nope, nope.

He was not going to fall for it just because Sharon dangled the possibility of a puzzle in front of him, knowing very well that Tony could hardly resist a good challenge.

He was not getting dragged back into that life again, no matter what Sharon wanted. He was done with that life, perfectly happy with what he had now, no matter how ‘mundane’ the family deemed it to be. He flicked off the light switch and locked his door behind him, double checking that the door was locked.

With a nod, he shut the office door behind him, determined to enjoy his night out with his friends and to forget the summoning stone shoved in the drawer of his desk.


	2. The Magician

Tony’s eye twitched as he twirled the stone between his fingers, eyes skimming over the letter for the hundredth time. 

After dinner, he found himself backtracking to his office and resignedly slipping the small bundle into his jacket pocket before stomping back towards his apartment. With the curtains and windows drawn, Tony carefully unwrapped the package once again. He examined the smooth stone, his finger rubbing absentmindedly across the red star that gleamed in the center. 

Clenching the stone in his palm, Tony closed his eyes with a sigh. Sharon owed him  _ big time _ for this. 

He efficiently cleared all the papers from his desk, stuffing them into his drawers. Reaching into the bottom drawer, he set two tall dark purple candles, and a large stone mortar and pestle and small well-worn journal onto the desk. Padding over to the kitchen, he grabbed the small leftover box of chicken wings from his dinner, and munched away at them as he flipped through the pages.

Sketches and doodles from years ago stood out from the pages of handwritten notes. Spell theory, ritual notes, casting instructions filled the pages and Tony flipped through until he found the small passage he was looking for, meticulously copied from an old textbook.

_ As previously discussed, there are many ways to summon spirits from the void, but not all spirits may be suitable for a familiar contract. Animal spirits are common and can easily be summoned with the calling ritual. The larger the animal, the more power and effort it takes to summon, but they also channel large pools of magical energy.  _

_ Demon familiars are much more powerful as magical conduits, but are also much more dangerous to summon. And while animal familiars only have one form, demon familiars are able to shift and transform into a variety of animal forms in addition to their humanoid one. _

_ Familiars and witches both must agree to a binding contract, and animal familiars tend to be much more willing to agree to a bond. Care and precautions must be ensured so that only suitable and non-malevolent spirits will be allowed into the summoning circle- _

Tony skimmed past the rest of the passage, his fingers lightly tracing the small doodles on in the margins. Shaking his head, he tossed his cleaned chicken bones back into the box. Closing the book with his clean hand, he returned to the kitchen. With the small knife, he cleaned the rest of the meat off the bones, rinsing them in the sink before patting them dry. 

He dumped the cleaned bones into the stone bowl with a satisfied hum, picking the bowl up and setting it inside the salt circle. Nudging the giant throw rug with his foot, he crouched down and arranged another armful of white candles in a smaller circle inside the salt ring. 

He rolled the rest of the rug up and dumped it on the side of the room, and started his rounds around each room, checking almost invisible symbols painted around the windows and the main doorway. It may have been a few years since he’s done a spell like this, but he wasn’t stupid. 

Multiple layers of protection were key in making sure a ritual like this didn’t go wrong. As much as he hated his history of magic lessons, the consequences were drilled into his mind, even today. 

The tapestries of backfired spells, of rituals done incorrectly, of potions miscalculated, had loomed over the tutor’s desk, still haunted him to this day, a reminder of what could happen if they didn’t follow the steps properly.

And yet- as Tony flipped to the back of his notebook, he was glad he didn’t listen to  _ all _ of his lessons.

_ “Hurry up Tony!” _

_ “I’m almost got it- there! Okay, lower me down.” _

_ Tony jumped to his feet, hugging the giant book to his chest as Morgan rolled her shoulders. She peeked her head past the end of the bookshelf. Whispers echoed down the hallway, shadows dancing across the shelves as the candlelight drew closer. “This book better be worth it,” hissed Morgan. “Auntie will skin us alive if we’re caught in the forbidden section.” _

_ Tony clutched his necklace, feeling the blue energy pulsing warmly at his touch. “Don’t worry, we won’t get caught.” _

Detailed descriptions of demon summonings and how to perform the ritual were all outlined in explicit and stomach turning detail. And honestly, after reading account after account of how badly things went wrong, well, Tony nor Morgan had been particularly motivated to even try the ritual.

Of course, at least not until now.

The short white candles were arranged in a circle on the floor and Tony placed the small stone in the center. Taking a few steps back, he sprinkled a solid circle of salt, creating another circle around the smaller circle of candles in the middle, taking care not to leave any gaps.

He wandered back to the bookshelf and pulled a section of books off the bottom shelf. Carefully, Tony gently pried the false back from the back and pulled out the small jewelry box. Popping open the lid, the familiar blue stone gently pulsed back at him. It was warm to the touch, and Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he slipped the necklace back around his neck.

Almost immediately, the warm thrum deep in the pit of his stomach he had long learned to forget surged to life, crackling under his skin. He could feel his magic dancing around and filling him with a glow that curled around him. Tony shuddered, stumbling a bit as he walked back to the circle, careful to step over the line of salt.

Sitting just outside the circle of candles,he stared down at the bright red star. “No turning back now.”

Tony rubbed his hands together, the warmth growing warmer and warmer under his skin. When it was almost too hot, he slammed his hands onto the ground. The circle of candles flickered to life instantly, the flames a bright red. 

Keeping his eyes glued onto the stone, Tony gently lifted his hands from the ground. With a flick of the knife, he pricked his pinky before holding it over the small stone bowl. With a slight squeeze, the blood was a slow but steady stream as it trickled into the bowl over the small bones. 

Cradling the mortar and pestle in his hands, Tony started to crush the contents, chanting under his breath as he wove the threads of magic together. “Iron and bone, flesh and flame, I release you from these binding chains. Iron and bone, flesh and flame, I release you from these binding chains. Iron and bone-”

The stone started to glow, the red star almost pulsing as Tony felt the magic now, pouring out of him. The bones were now a coarse powder as Tony continued to work at them with the pestle. The stone pulsed more insistently and urgently.

“Iron and bone, flesh and flame, I release you from these binding chains-”

Cursing under his breath, Tony used his knife again, pricking another finger open as he mixed the blood into the dark brown powder. He grit his teeth, at the wave of magic flowing from his hands, almost like it was being pulled, as he held it above the stone bowl. 

“Iron and bone, flesh and flame, I release you from these binding chains-”

The bowl was almost half full now, the magic within him being tugged and siphoned out of his body. Tony blinked a few times, trying to get the room to stop spinning and tilting. But he pressed on, as he could feel the waves of desperation from the stone, almost like something was clawing to get out-

Reaching carefully once again deep from within his belly, Tony pushed a final wave of magic into the bowl. The red star in the center of the stone glowed a blinding gold that started to fill the rest of the room. And with that, Tony slammed the bowl onto the ground. The contents in the bowl burst into a brilliant red flame, the stone in the center of the room shattering with a loud bang. 

The light settled, and Tony slowly lowered his hands that covered his face. The small stone that previously lay in the center of the circle was gone. Instead, there stood a figure of a man, naked as the day he was born. 

He was handsome to say the least, with long dark brown hair, small curved horns and full lips. His left arm gleamed, an interesting metal that Tony couldn’t quite place right away, the plates shifting as the demon moved. Definitely well-proportioned and unashamed to show it as he stood tall and proud, his shoulders held back as he scanned the room intently, locking his gaze on Tony. 

And while normally Tony would welcome that type of attention from someone that gorgeous, the dangerous glint of gold was a reminder of how  _ not _ human this creature was. Tony slowly got to his feet, stepping just outside the solid ring of salt.

The world started to spin faster, and Tony stumbled backwards. Black spots danced around in his vision. He swivelled and blinked at the two headed figure, looking almost concerned at him. “Oh hey there demon, it’s me, your friendly neighbourhood summoner. You’re good for a while right? Look, I’ll let you out in a bit, I just- I need to take a nap right now-”

The voice screaming at him to ‘wake the fuck up’ grew fainter and fainter as Tony leaned forward and slumped to the ground.


	3. The Devil

Tony’s head pounded as the world slowly regained focus.

“ _Oh thank fuck you’re not dead_. Charming a human to let me go would’ve been fucking difficult from the middle of this damn circle.”

“It figures you’d be a demon and not an animal spirit, who are you anyways?” groaned Tony. He pushed himself up to a sitting position before reeling backwards. “And why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

Bucky bowed with a flourish, unashamed of his nakedness. “I thought you humans love appreciatin’ beautiful things. The closest human translation is Bucky.”

Tony averted his gaze upwards. “Seriously, the ‘all-powerful demon’ that was sealed with all those extra layers of protection, is named _Bucky-_ ”

The demon rolled his eyes. “Right, and you humans are _so_ creative with your names. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be summoned by a _Tiffany_ for the hundredth time _?_ How cliche.”

“Whatever Beelzebub,” Tony tilted his neck as he stretched. “If I let you go, do you solemnly swear not to harm me or anyone else until we work out the terms?”

Bucky huffed, but nodded, his eyes flaring a bright gold at the terms of negotiation. “Yeah yeah, now will you please lemme out? I’m getting itchy from all this damn salt.”

Tony got to his feet with a sigh, using his foot to swipe through the ring of salt. Almost immediately, the white candles in the center flickered out. The demon yawned, flickering over to the couch and plopping down. “So, what exactly are you interested in? Fame? Money? Love?”

Tony wrinkled his nose. “Nothing honestly. If you give me a few minutes to clean up and eat something, I’ll set you free.”

“What, I’m not good enough for you or somethin’?”

Tony looked up from his examination of his right hand, the glove was caked with dried blood smeared all over. Blood stains were always the worst in the finger pads and always messed with the sensors. Thankfully, Helen gifted him with a few spare pairs. “Look, I’m sure you’re very scary-”

“You bet your ass I’m _fucking scary_ -”

“But I’m not interested in a contract-”

“-I was in the top of my class-”

“- _at all._ No demons, no deals, nothing. I’m good.”

“Wait, wait wait, so let me get this straight,” the demon interrupted, his face furrowed in confusion. He paced back and forth within the confines of the circle. “You risked a dangerous summoning ritual, that many have _died_ trying, successfully called one of the sexiest and most powerful demons around- after all that _you don’t want anything.”_

Tony shrugged. “Pretty much.”

With a clap of his hands the last of the purple candles on his desk dissipated. Popping the cork off a small green vial, Tony poured the liquid over the rock. His nose wrinkled as the acid ate away at the stone, bubbling away until there was nothing left. Tony beelined towards his kitchen sink. “There, all destroyed. Door’s that way. You’re welcome.”

Tony scrubbed the blood off his left hand, wincing slightly at the cuts. It wasn’t until he heard the front door shut behind him though, that he allowed himself to slump against the counter. After wrapping it with some gauze, he fumbled through his fridge. He struggled a bit, but managed to fumble the lid off the orange juice, taking giant gulps as he stared out the window.

The wave of dizziness slowly disappeared as the sugar hit his system, and Tony let out a deep breath. Out of the corner of his eye, a black flash zipped past his window. With a sigh, Tony  he leaned over to unlatch the window. At first there was nothing there, but as he leaned forward to scan the rest of his balcony, he saw a black raven waiting patiently on the railing. It hopped a forwards a few steps before flying inside, and landing on the counter.

Tony raised an eyebrow. “How convenient. You couldn’t have showed up an hour ago Coulson?”

The raven stared back blankly. “You seemed to be doing fine on your own. Besides, I would’ve helped you if things started to get out of hand.”

Coulson rustled his feathers. “I’ll pass along the message to Sharon though. She’ll be pleased that the ritual was successful. Impressed even.”

“You mean she didn’t think I’d be stupid enough to try the demon summoning ritual on my own?” drawled Tony.

“She always believed in you Tony. She wouldn’t have sent it to you if she didn’t think you could do it.”

Tony huffed. It was always a little unnerving to have the raven watch him knowingly like that. He took another swig of his orange juice.

“He was definitely a weird one,” mused Tony with a shake of his head, “but at least he didn’t try to attack me like Rocket did last time. Anyways, tell Sharon that I’ve met my summoning quota for the next, oh forever. She can bring the Christmas wine this year.”

Phil looked amused as he took to the air again. “Of course. See you in a few months.”

With a flap of his wings and a small white flash, the raven was gone.

Flopping onto his bed with a groan, Tony closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

* * *

_“What’s wrong with him?”_

_“It’s probably that Stark blood of his. He’s too much like his father that one- always so fascinated with mundane technology. Maria needs to be more strict if she doesn’t want him playing with things he shouldn’t-”_

_“Ahem.This is hardly the time or place for such chatter councilmen. I believe Lady Carbonell requested you both in the library ten minutes ago.”_

_Tony didn’t see the curtain being pulled away through his blurry vision, but he felt strong and warm arms scoop him up.Tony pressed his face into Jarvis’ chest. The smell of fresh laundry soap filled his nose as he gripped at the older man’s jacket._

_A handkerchief dabbed at his face, and Tony wrinkled his nose as Jarvis carefully wiped his face. “Now, blow. There we go.”_

_“Jarvis, why do they hate me?”_

_Jarvis paused for a moment before settling Tony higher on his hip. His voice was gentle. “You young sir, were gifted with many special talents, that many are envious of. People are afraid of things they do not understand and in their fear, they can be cruel.”_

_Jarvis squeezed him in a warm hug and Tony clung to him with a sigh. “Do not take their fear to heart young sir. If anyone can prove them wrong, it will be you.”_

* * *

Tony squinted at the lab report in front of him. He never did understand how Bruce always managed to make sense out of any of these student scribbles. Tony turned the page sideways; he must’ve re-read the same sentence ten times over, and yet still couldn’t understand what was going on.

And as much as he wished he could call and complain to Bruce at how much of a headache this was, the whole reason he was marking these in the first place was because Bruce was down for the count with the flu, and Tony was being a good friend. Tossing his glasses onto the table with a sigh, Tony stretched with a yawn.

The coffee machine beeped at him indignantly, and Tony stumbled to his feet to pour himself a cup. He rubbed his eyes, glaring the cuckoo clock, chirping at him from the corner. It was almost 3 am, and he still had over half of Bruce’s student lab reports to grade.

Tony turned instead back to his cupboards, hissing mournfully at the empty bag of coffee grounds. He glanced over to the overflowing stack of papers with a groan and grabbed his jacket.

There’s no way he would survive the rest without coffee.

He stuffed a few tote bags into his backpack before swinging it over his shoulder. He wrapped his scarf tightly around his neck, and slipped on his coat and gloves.Tony opened his front door, barely stopping himself from screaming as he swung his backpack out in front of him as a shield.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing here?”

The demon from earlier, Bucky, wiggled his fingers in greeting. At least he had clothes on this time. Tony didn’t know whether he was more relieved for disappointed.  “Well _hello_ to you too.” Bucky glanced pointedly down the hallway. “You might want to let me in if you don’t want all your neighbours storming out here ready to kill you for waking them up-”

Tony let out a sharp breath, his eyes darting around down the hallway before cursing under his breath. With a quick yank of his collar, Tony herded the demon back inside his apartment. He whirled around once the door was shut, arms crossed with a scowl.

“You’ve got _one minute_ to explain to me why I shouldn’t just banish your ass to another realm-”

Bucky raised his hands. “Kinky. But fine, I’ll get to the point.”

The demon paused for a moment, seemingly to make sure that Tony was staring into his eyes. If there’s anything that Tony knew about demons, it was that they were always doing things for dramatic effect. “Make me your familiar.”

The rant that Tony had all planned out, screeched to a halt. “..what?”

Bucky rolled his eyes, but Tony could tell that the demon was holding his tongue as his eye twitched. “Make me your familiar.”

“Look,” Bucky continued, “you said you wouldn’t agree to a regular deal. So don’t. Make me your familiar instead.”

Tony stared at him, his mind whirling at the offer. “Why would you ever want that?”

Bucky’s eyes glinted, “Because you helped me earlier without wanting or expecting anything back.”

Tony flopped onto an armchair. He rubbed his head, “I- that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Most witches, most _humans_ , want something,” Bucky started to pace back and forth. “In all the times I’ve been summoned, I can tell ya that you’re the first to let me walk away without begging for fame, fortune, a familiar bond, _something_ -

Bucky turned. “I’ll be honest with ya Stark, I’ve never needed or really wanted a bond with anyone before.” He leaned forward, his face eye-level with Tony’s as his hands rested on both sides of the arm rests. “Not before you sugar.”

Tony could see the small gold flecks in Bucky’s eyes, the long lashes that framed his face, and it was utterly unfair how gorgeous he was, even this close. Tony wanted to simultaneously lean in to close the gap but also punch him in the face.

He narrowed his eyes. “I find that a little hard to believe.”

Tony poked Bucky in the chest. He relaxed slightly as Bucky winced a bit from the jab. “Ouch. Did ya really have to add that extra magic in there?”

“Like you said,” continued Tony, “Everyone wants _something_. And according to you, you’re one of the biggest, baddest demons around-”

“-don’t forget _sexiest_ -”

“-so, what is it that _you_ need.” said Tony. “Look, sexy or not, if you want me to take you seriously, I need you to be honest with me.”

Tony watched as Bucky’s eyes stared him down. Staring into his glimmering eyes was uncomfortable and an eerie reminder of how...not human he was. Whatever he was searching for, he must’ve found since Bucky straightened back with a nod. A moment later, the demon slumped. “I need to find someone.”

Tony blinked. That  was not what he expected. Than again, it’s not like he was an expert in what demons wanted.

Bucky continued, “Steve. A friend of mine. He went missing a few weeks ago, and no one has seen or heard from him ever since.”

Tony leaned forward. “Can’t you demons find each other? Some sort of weird infernal tracking magic or something? You do realize that cell phones are a thing now-”

“That’s the thing,” interrupted Bucky. He started to pace back and forth again. “Something or _someone_ is blocking every beacon I throw out. And as much of a dumbass that Steve can be, he’s not one to just drop off the map without at least tellin’ me first.”

Bucky’s eyes hardened. “And no way in _heaven_ am I gonna report him to the demon hunters. They’ll literally skin him alive for makin’ such a huge fuss.”

Tony closed his eyes, absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his chest, fingers latching onto the necklace that he had forgotten to take off. It was cool to the touch.  “...there’s no one else?”

Bucky stopped pacing right in front of him. “No one. Look, I know you’re hung up on this whole non-magic kick, and I kinda get it but- look, Steve’s the only real friend I’ve got left.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, watching the demon carefully. His fingers tightened around the stone.“Even if it means binding yourself to me as a familiar? Forever?”

Bucky nodded sharply. “He’d do the same for me.”

Tony exhaled, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the demon in front of him was unyielding.  “Fuck. _Fine_. I’ll help you. But I’m not taking you as a familiar unless absolutely necessary. For now let’s just say you owe me a favour. And if I’m gonna help you, we’re gonna do this my way.”

Bucky blinked. “You really are set on this non-magic deal aren’t you?”

He extended his hand out and when Tony clasped it, their hands glowed a bright gold. Tony cleared his throat, the magic deep inside him settling and thrumming in his core. “I will help you find your friend Steve and in return, you will owe me a favour to be claimed by me at any time. No tricks. If you fuck me over at any time, I have the right to break the deal. Deal?”

“Deal” echoed Bucky.

And with those words, a golden ebb of energy snaked around both of their wrists, binding the magical contract between them.

Tony stifled another yawn as he stepped back, eyeing Bucky’s pockets. “You wouldn’t have any coffee would you?”

Bucky blinked. “Uh, no. I’m a crossroads demon, not a coffee demon.”

“That’s too bad,” sighed Tony. He looked back to the table of papers still waiting to be marked. “Wanna go get me some? The sooner I get these papers marked, the sooner I can help your friend tomorrow…”

Bucky scowled. “Wait, why not now?”

Tony crossed his arms. “Like I said, we’re gonna do this my way. You came to _me_ for help, remember? _I_ don’t specialize in tracking. And I know if we show up now, my friend who is will hex us both. Our best chance is to wait until tomorrow evening, which I’ll need free, so we’re gonna have to finish marking these sooner than later. So..coffee? There’s a convenience store a few blocks south of here.  I will hex you if it’s decaf.”

“...cream and sugar alright?”


	4. The High Priestess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short jump into Bucky's head before popping back into Tony's. Since it's Monday, enjoy this longer chapter to help you get through the week until Thursday!

 

The sun was starting to set as they wandered through the park. One notice-me-not spell later had Bucky and Tony undisturbed as they passed by a group of joggers out for a run. the joggers’ eyes sliding over them as they didn’t exist. A small coffee stand was parked on the path, and even at this time of day, a long line of people stood waiting. Bucky and Tony’s boots crunched against the snow as they wandered away from the main paths towards the giant fountain in the center.

Bucky shivered and shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets. He would never admit it, but he was regretting not accepting Tony’s offer of mittens before they left the apartment. But after walking through the park for the past half hour in what seemed like endless circles…

“Are you sure we didn’t walk past this fountain earlier? Like, twice?”

“We probably did,” replied Tony. “She likes to loop her wards around a few times to confuse anyone tracking her.”

Tony clutched his necklace tightly and Bucky watched as Tony concentrated. As he focused, Bucky managed to spot the nearly invisible trails of magic that hovered in the air.

“Huh.”

In his peripheral vision, Bucky jumped back as an orange blur darted off to the side. Towards the small cluster of trees, an orange tabby cat watched them, its tail flicking back and forth. Tony beamed as he approached.

“Hey Pepper! How are you?”

The cat, Pepper, tilted her head, a silent demand to be pet. Tony obliged, and Pepper rubbed her head against his hand with a purr. “Hi Tony. It’s business as usual here.”

Bucky took a step back as Pepper darted forward and weaved herself between his legs. Her whiskers twitched as she sniffed him. “A demon? I didn’t know you were on the market for a familiar.”

Tony shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s a bit more complicated than that. Is Natasha free?”

Pepper flicked her tail, and Bucky swore that he could feel her eyes stare into his soul. And as a demon, that was saying something. An eternity later, she blinked. “For a while. This way.”

Pepper led them deeper into the trees. From further back, this area looked pretty sparse, however Bucky could almost taste the heavy magic in the air, the illusion of emptiness peeling away the closer they got.

Bucky had to stomp down the urge to turn around and run as the outside world faded away, a small cabin coming into view. It was covered in a heavy blanket of magic and if it wasn’t pointed out to him, he would’ve never noticed it.

The smell of dried herbs was potent as they entered through the kitchen door. A giant black cauldron bubbled away on the heath. Garlands of garlic bulbs hung from the ceiling and rows of plants lined the windowsill.

Bucky leaned in closer. Some plants were easy enough to recognize. Lavender, sage, even dragon’s breath was easy enough to spot. Others were more difficult to pinpoint. He leaped back as the blood red flower that he was looking at suddenly combusted, burning brilliantly until only dark ashes remained. Bucky jumped again at the voice next to his ear.

“That one’s called Phoenix Blood,” said Tony, his chin tucked over Bucky’s shoulder, “It takes a few cycles before it’s viable, but it’s potent stuff. You’re very jumpy aren’t you?”

“Yeah well, you only live so long if you learn to stay on your toes. Give a guy a warning next time won’t you?”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Warn you before I scare you?”

A clatter from the back corner of the room had Bucky jumping again. A redheaded woman was seated in the far corner, knitting. She rolled her eyes “You asked for a warning. I gave you one. You’re right, he’s very jumpy.”

Bucky groaned. “Are all you humans like this, or am I just lucky?”

Tony punched him lightly in the arm. “Be nice. This is Natasha, the one who’s gonna find your friend.”

“I am?”

“Yes,” nodded Tony. He wiggled his messenger bag. “I even brought bribes.”

“Tony, we’ve talked about this,” explained Pepper, ”you don’t tell people that you’re trying to bribe that you’re going to bribe them- is that Alaskan salmon I smell?”

Swinging the bag on top of the table, Tony pulled a box of smoked salmon and an even larger bottle of wine. Pepper jumped onto the counter, her tail swishing as she pawed at the salmon box. Natasha nodded approvingly as her eyes scanned the label. “Good choice.”

Pepper meowed from her perch. “Should I set up a perimeter?”

“Please,” said Natasha. Pepper jumped onto Natasha’s lap, rubbing her face against Natasha’s. “Stay safe. Don’t do anything dangerous or I’ll find a way to bring you back and kill you myself.”

Natasha’s entire face softened as she hugged Pepper close, whispering into her ear. The bond between a familiar and a witch was the most important in their lives, so it wasn’t surprising that many witches and familiars developed such a close bond.

Knowing was one thing, actually witnessing how much Natasha and Pepper’s beings _glowed_ simply from being so interconnected...Bucky looked away, uncomfortable with interrupting the intimate moment. His eyes flickered over to Tony.

Could they have had something like that if Tony had said yes?

Pepper darted past his feet and Natasha stood up with a stretch, motioning for Bucky and Tony to follow her. “No time like the present.”

She turned to Bucky. “You, tell me everything. Spare no details.”

* * *

One bottle of wine and a full explanation later, Tony watched as Bucky fidgeted under Natasha’s unyielding stare. Then again, she always did have the ability to stare someone down until they spilled all their secrets. Tony never did understand how she could go for so long without blinking- _oh_.

Her pupils were almost pitch black, the faint silver shimmer of Natasha’s magic barely visible as a film washed over her eyes. If he didn’t know her as well as he did, he doubts that he would’ve even noticed the effects of her suggestion spell.

Then again, the effects of casting magic on demons themselves was not a well-studied topic. Tony could admit that he was impressed; not many managed to endure sitting under Natasha’s stare without breaking much of a sweat.

Not that Tony was staring. Nope, it was entirely because he was not used to seeing demons, especially ones with a gorgeous metal arm and thick thighs that Tony would totally love to- wait- nope, nope nope. He was not going down that train of thought-

Natasha blinked and the shimmer disappeared. She nodded, satisfied with whatever she was looking for. “Okay. I’ll try to help you.” She looked back over to Tony. “This won’t be easy.”

“But not impossible?”

Natasha pursed her lips. “Tracking a demon is difficult enough. Tracking one that is hidden, by their own will or by someone else’s, is near impossible.”

Tony sighed. “I figured. But you’re the best tracker there is.”

Natasha nodded. “I am. Which is why I didn’t say that it was _impossible_ , just highly difficult.”

The kitchen table was cleared, a large stone basin placed in the center, filled to the brim with cool water. Smooth perfectly round stones were placed in a ring around the edges of the table. Natasha held out her hand. “The anchor?”

Tony nudged Bucky. “The thing I told you to bring. Something of Steve’s that she can use to find him with.”

Bucky snapped his fingers and a set of what looked like dog tags appeared in the air. Tony tilted his head. “Dog tags?”

Bucky shrugged, as they floated over to Natasha who grabbed them out of the air. “Sure you can call them that.That’s basically what they are. All demons have some infused with a bit of their magic. Usually lets us jump from place to place quickly if it isn’t warded, which most places aren’t. It’s not something you wanna lose.”

“Oh,” said Tony. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly clicking into place. “That’s why you think he’s in some sorta trouble.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. It’s not like him to just leave these behind.”

Natasha hummed as she placed the dog tags in the bottom of the basin. The excess water floating into the air around them, small globules of water dancing in the air.

She unclasped the chain around her neck, the small amber pendant glowing as it hovered over the basin. The necklace began to twirl above it in a slow circle.

Natasha lit the sage and waved it into the air. Setting it off to the side, she rubbed her hands together before slamming them onto the edges of the table. Runes carved into the table glowed a bright blue as Natasha started to mutter under her breath.

Wisps of smoke swirled up from the water as the amber necklace pulsed and bathed the room with specks of dancing lights. An hour passed, and then another as Natasha continued to focus, her eyes locked on the surface of the basin.

Finally, Tony let out a sharp breath as a silent image slowly blurred into focus, rippling on the surface of the water. A devastatingly handsome, blond haired and blue eyed man glared into the distance. From the looks of it, his arms were bound to the chair behind him, the chains wrapped tightly around his muscled torso.  

Likely enchanted, Tony’s mind supplied. It wasn’t easy to bind a demon unwillingly in his human form.

“Steve,” whispered Bucky. He leaned forward in his chair, craning his neck to lean in closer.

“Do you recognize where he might be? The room he’s in?” asked Natasha.

“No I don’t,” replied Bucky with a frown.

“I wasn’t talking about you,” interjected Natasha. “Tony, does that look familiar to you?”

Other than the demon tied to the chair, Steve, there wasn’t much to go on. Whomever Steve was glaring at was just out of reach of the spell. Behind him, there wasn’t much to go on; the walls were bare, and the room was very dim.

“Look underneath him,” emphasized Natasha, “at the binding circle.”

With the light angled towards Steve’s face, it was hard to see what exactly was on the ground. He could just barely make out traces of red chalk, the long lines and familiar swirls that Tony had spent hours memorizing.

The design was familiar and it was almost muscle memory at this point for Tony to trace the entire circle out in one long movement onto a sheet of paper that appeared at his elbow.

Natasha stared down at the design over his shoulder with a slow nod. “...what are you going to do?”

Tony’s eyes narrowed, his eyes focused on the page in front of him. Tony crumpled the paper up into a ball with a growl. “Fucking hell.”

He glanced over to the image of Steve, starting to dissipate away as Natasha’s spell began to fade. Bucky leaned forward, his eyes flickering between the two witches. “Do you know where he is?”

Tony tossed the crumpled up paper over to the demon. “Unfortunately. This got a lot more complicated.”

Bucky frowned as he stared at the page. “This looks familiar but-”

Tony sighed. “It’s the Carbonell family crest, woven into the circle.”

The circle itself was beautiful, the combination of symbols meant to represent the magic and might of the Carbonell clan.

_“Old and new, this circle will bend those who wish to do us harm and keep us safe.”_

_“Safe from who mama?”_

_“Safe from anyone who will stand in our way my darling. The Carbonell clan will always protect our own.”_

“Wait- you don’t mean-”

“My dear old mother?” laughed Tony bitterly. He shook his head at Bucky’s look of alarm. “Don’t worry. After I decided to live a _lowly_ mundane life, the clan’s been pretending that I don’t exist. I won’t lie and say that it won’t be difficult, but with a bit of maneuvering, we might have a shot at rescuing your friend.”

“But why?” asked Bucky, “Not that I’m not grateful or anything, it’s just-”

“Trust me,” said Tony, closing his eyes. He tugged the glove off his right hand, watching Bucky’s reaction carefully as he wiggled the prosthetic fingers, “They wouldn’t even let me regrow it. To them, this was a _learning experience_ for my mistakes _._ I’ve seen what they do to those they _like_ first hand- ha! Get it? First _hand_.”

He waved off Bucky’s look of dismay and horror. Tony rolled up his jacket sleeve, showing off the rest of his scarred arm. It was weirdly freeing to have someone look at the stump of where his right hand used to be and look at him not with pity, but understanding.

“I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone, not even my worst enemy. So yes, with Natasha and Pepper’s help, we’re gonna find and rescue your friend. Hopefully before too much damage is done.”

He didn’t realize his eyes had slipped closed again until he felt a cool hand on his shoulder. Bucky’s hand was cool and comforting. Tony patted his hand with a squeeze. He tilted his head and turned to face the demon behind him fully.

“How much are you willing to risk for Steve?”

“Anything,” replied Bucky without hesitation. “Anything in my power- he’d do the same for me.”

Tony scanned Bucky’s face, eventually nodding in satisfaction. “Remember your initial offer? You’re gonna have to bind yourself to me if we want any chance of making it into that house alive.”

To his credit, Bucky didn’t even blink. “I trust you.”

Tony exhaled deeply, reeling back at the conviction in Bucky’s gaze. Demons were masters of lies and trickery, but something deep inside Tony knew that Bucky hadn’t been anything but honest with him so far.

And honestly, he didn’t know whether that was more comforting or terrifying.


	5. The Lovers

Tony let out a long breath as he finished drawing out the smaller circle. Natasha and Pepper nodded at him from the side, their larger circle protecting the living room with their combined power. Once the ceremony started, they wouldn’t be able to interfere, but their presence was comforting nonetheless.

He carefully arranged the simple silver chalice on the floor in front of him Tony exhaled again, inhaling deeply as he picked up the knife. The handle was beautifully carved, with intricate vines and leaves carved into the wood. It was a surprise when Natasha handed it to him wrapped neatly in a cloth bag. 

_ “It’s tradition. And even though I’m not your mentor, every witch deserves a good knife at their first familiar bonding ceremony.” _

Tony traced the handle carefully. After leaving the family,  he never expected to get this milestone of a gift. It somehow felt right as he balanced the hilt of the handle in his hand.Tony glanced over towards Bucky who stood patiently outside the circle, waiting for the call to allow him within. Bucky smiled at him encouragingly, his tail flicking behind him. “Ready?”

Tony nodded, downing the potion that Natasha brewed earlier, forcing himself to down the viscous and earthy concoction. It was bitter and was reminiscent of dirt and ash, but Tony emptied the glass.

With a quick motion, Tony used the knife to nick the back of his arm open, squeezing blood out of his arm into the silver chalice until it was half full. 

“Ash and flame, blood and name, I call forth a familiar to this plane.”

With a grimace, he wrapped his hand with a cloth before clasping his necklace and closing his eyes. He could feel the thrum of his magic in the air, reaching outside the circle as he concentrated on his surroundings. He could feel the cool hum of Natasha and Pepper just at the edges of the circle as they whispered to each other, but their magic recoiled and danced out of reach. 

Bucky’s magic was warm and buzzing as it floated close, a golden thread weaving itself almost playfully around Tony’s tendrils. Tony’s eyes snapped open as he could  _ feel _ Bucky’s magic, dancing just below his skin. Bucky’s eyes glowed bright as he slowly pushed through the barrier inside Tony’s circle, relaxing as Tony’s magic let him pass.

As Bucky sat across from him, Tony wordlessly held out the knife. Following Tony’s lead, Bucky took the knife and nicked the back of his arm to fill the brim of the chalice. Lifting the cup gently, Bucky pressed the cup to Tony’s lips “Bottom’s up.”

With a deep breath, Tony gulped the blood down. It was still still warm, which helped a little, but Tony still felt like gagging. He shook his head, doing his best to swallow as much blood as he could. Demon blood was slightly darker and more purple than human blood and burned on the way down. As Tony gasped for air, he handed the chalice over to Bucky who did the same and drank from the cup. 

Back and forth they passed the chalice, and it didn’t take long for the tingling blood to have Tony’s vision swimming. Bucky was half-holding Tony up at this point, carefully tipping the cup back for Tony to drink. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as Bucky’s magic continued to burn through him- “Come on Sugar, only a little more to go, that’s it-”

Tony watched blearily as Bucky drank what he could from the cup. He weakly grabbed at Bucky’s wrist. “Wait-”

“I know darling, I left you the last mouthful. Here-” Tony felt Bucky’s hand tilting his head back a little more.  Bucky gently poured what he could, but quickly pulled back when Tony started to choke. “Okay, we’re almost there- here let’s try this.”

Bucky drained the rest of the blood into his mouth, before leaning in to press his lips to Tony’s. Tony opened his mouth in surprise, his eyes slipping shut as Bucky kissed him deeply. As Bucky gently pulled back, the tingling stopped and all at once, and Tony could feel the bond snap into place. 

It was dizzying, feeling Bucky’s magic swirl around him, between them. Slowly, then all at once, the pain was...gone. Not just the burning feeling from Bucky’s blood, but also the constant pain in his arm, the rattling in his chest, all of it was gone. 

All those spaces, were suddenly filled with the awareness that Bucky was there, of believing and  _ knowing  _ that Bucky would always be there whenever Tony needed him to be. The world around him swayed and oh- yes, Bucky was carrying him. 

A hand gently wiped at his mouth and Tony wrinkled his nose as he fought to keep his eyes open.

_ “There you go. Sleep Tony. I’ll watch over you.” _

Tony pressed his face against Bucky’s chest, and for the first time in a long time, allowed himself to fully relax.

* * *

_ “What do you think your familiar will be like? Like, if you could choose any animal or demon I guess, what would you pick?” _

_ Tony hummed. The grass was warm and they still had time before they’d have to get up. “No idea.” _

_ A finger jabbed him in the side and Tony’s eyes flew open. He turned on his side to glare at her. “Sharon, what the hell-” _

_ Sharon rolled her eyes. “I’m serious.” _

_ Tony flopped back over. “So am I. I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know if I’d want a familiar.” _

_ “Wait, really? Why not?” _

_ “Familiars are a big responsibility. Sure, the power boost would be nice. But it’s a lot of responsibility. You’d be responsible not only your own, but two souls.” _

_ “Wow. Look at you being all responsible and mature. I’m so proud I could cry- hey! That was my chocolate you ass! Get back here!” _

* * *

Tony twitched as the sunlight peeked through the curtains shining directly onto his face. He started to roll over. Or at least he tried; the arms wrapped around him tightened and turned them both over with a groan.

Tony could feel how knotted his hair felt as he ran his hand through the strands, clumped together and sticking up in every direction. He was pleased to see that someone had removed his prosthetic before he slept; it was sitting on top of the nightstand beside them next to his glove. His lips were cracked, and he did his best to wipe away at the dried drool at the side of his face. And yet somehow, Tony hasn’t woken up this refreshed in years. 

And apparently, Tony wasn’t the only one having a pleasant morning so far. Tony could feel Bucky warm and deliciously hard against his back.

Good morning to him.

As tempting as it was to give into the warmth, to rub back against the demon behind him and give them both a memorable wake up- Tony shook his head. Tony could still feel how exhausted Bucky was, how much power the demon- his  _ familiar _ \- used up in order to help complete the bond.

He gently pried and extracted himself from Bucky’s grip and slipped a pillow in between Bucky’s arms. He laughed at the sight of Bucky’s long tail twitching behind him, reaching out to snag Tony’s wrist.

Bucky yawned. “Stay. Sleep.”

Tony gently tugged away and brushed his hand to cup Bucky’s face. “I’m gonna get some food for now. Go back to sleep.”

With a hum, Bucky rolled back over face down. 

Tony’s lips twitched. Who would’ve known that demons snored?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go shower the amazing [feignedsobriquet](https://www.pillowfort.io/feignedsobriquet) with all your love and praise for that amazing art! Don't they look amazing? Comment down below and let them know what you think! <3


	6. The Fool

“You sure you don’t wanna play fetch? Those other dogs have been eyeing you ever since we’ve got here.”

From his shifted dog form, Bucky couldn’t speak out loud. But that didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes. The group of other dogs yipped and barked at each other excitedly as they played in the mostly melted snow.

_ Just be grateful I didn’t shift into a cat or I’d be using you as a scratching post right now. _

Tony snorted. “Your loss then. I’m pretty good at throwing a ball.”

_ Not really into getting slobbered on by all those other dogs thanks. But you know once I’m back in my other form, I’m pretty good at handling all sorts of balls- _

Tony was reluctantly impressed. Bucky somehow managed to waggle his eyebrows. 

“Wow.”

_ Natasha did say we needed to spend time to help cement our bond. What’s wrong with a little old fashioned wrestling? _

Tony couldn't help the chuckle, coughing as passing joggers gave him a curious look. He waved at them, then placed his hand on top of Bucky’s head. Bucky’s fur was warm and Tony dug his fingers in a little, warmth filling him as he watched Bucky’s giant bushy tail wag back and forth.

It was tempting to just give in for once, to let go and say yes. Every once in a while, he could still feel the tingles of Bucky brushing against his mind, warm and comforting. His mind was always a maelstrom, always swirling and moving. But somehow, Bucky was the lighthouse in the middle of the storm. For the first time in a long time, Tony could blissfully blocked out all the noise, all the static that kept his mind spinning and dizzy all the time. 

But then, flashes of worry, of panic, of  _ Steve _ would bleed through, and something ugly reared itself deep inside Tony’s gut. What made it worse was that Tony knew exactly how much Steve meant to Bucky, binding himself to Tony just for a chance to save him. Tony shook his head, swallowing tightly.

“I’m sure that your friend Steve might take issue with that.”

Bucky huffed as he laid his head onto Tony’s lap, nudging Tony’s hand until Tony started petting through his fur. Tony could hear the fond amusement through the bond.  _ You humans make things much too complicated. You’re mine, just like Steve’s mine. And knowing him, he’d be perfectly happy to be yours too, if you let him.  _

Tony’s mind must’ve glitched out for a moment because Bucky was impatiently nudging at his hand. Tony resumed running his fingers through the coarse fur. “That simple huh?”

_ Yep. And just think, imagine all the new things we could try out, all three of us together- _

“Now when you said that you wanted to live a mundane life, I didn’t think that bonding with a familiar was part of the program cousin.”

Bucky leapt up, body tense and growling. Tony tugged a bit on Bucky’s collar, his hand gripping Bucky’s fur. Steeling himself Tony glanced around, his eyes locked on the figure walking towards them on the path. 

Dark red leather boots crunched along the pavement as they drew nearer. An outlandish faux grey coat sweeped behind her as Morgan stopped in front of them. 

Tony yanks hard on the bond.  _ “No matter what happens, don’t reveal that you’re a demon familiar.” _

It seemed impossible but Bucky tensed even further, clearly becoming more on edge the closer that Morgan got. But to Tony’s relief, he nodded his head. Tony could feel the presence of Bucky’s magic slowly dialing back, like a radio dial. It was still present, tingling at the back of Tony’s head, but thankfully, it was no longer broadcasting ‘demon familiar’ as it once was.

Morgan slid her pair of designer sunglasses down as she inspected Bucky, who while no longer growling, was doing his best to appear intimidating. “Auntie’s gonna flip when she finds out you bonded with a familiar without a formal ceremony. At least he’s a large dog. A large pool of magic to draw from.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “I’m doing fine, thanks for asking. What do you want Morgan?”

The air shifted and thickened. Maybe it was because Tony was starting to use his magic once again, but he could feel the slightest tendrils of Morgan’s magic, probing and inspecting his aura. Instinctually, Tony pushed back, knowing that if he didn’t, that things could get worse in a flash. 

Tony refused to look away as Morgan stared him down. He could feel the tendrils of her cold magic, trying to wrap around him and squeeze. In response, he pictured a large flame in his mind. As soon as the spark was lit, he pushed out wave after wave of warm energy to curl around him, burning away the cold tendrils as they drew nearer. 

Seconds, then minutes passed as Tony and Morgan both refused to back down. Tony jolted a bit as Bucky nudged his head beneath Tony’s left hand, and Tony could feel the pulse of Bucky’s magic, wrapping around him like a blanket. 

It was actually a bit surprising at the speed that Morgan pulled back. Tony felt a twinge of satisfaction as he watched her scowl.

Morgan pouted, but Tony could see how her eyes darkened before she slid her sunglasses back on. “How mean. First time in years we’ve seen each other and you won’t answer my questions or let me play. I see how it is.”

Tony didn’t respond. Morgan popped her bubblegum. With a flick of her wrist, a silver envelope appeared in the air. Tony stared at it for a moment. “For me?”

Morgan rolled her eyes. “No, it’s for the other witch asking me stupid questions. Of course it’s for you.”

“But  _ why? _ The last time I checked, my scarlet letter was still bright and shiny-” 

“Guess you’ll have to open it and find out. Or don’t. I honestly don’t care. You won’t answer my questions and this is getting boring so I’m leaving.”

She turned around, sliding her sunglasses back on. “It was good to see you Tony. Don’t be boring and show up won’t you? These things are always so much more interesting with you there.”

Wiggling her fingers, Morgan flounced away, vanishing with a pop of pink light. 

A second passed, then another, before Tony allowed himself to relax slightly. Bucky stuck his cold nose into Tony’s hand with a whine. “ _ Are you alright? _ ”

“I think so. I can’t believe that worked.”

“It’s because you’re both still technically within the boundaries of my wards. Her normal tracking powers aren’t at full strength here.”

Bucky whipped off of Tony’s lap again, but Tony reached forward and gently tugged him back. 

“It’s okay, it’s just Natasha.”

Bucky swivelled his head, his ears pointed straight up as he scanned the park. HIs eyes darted back and forth, but it was clear that he couldn’t see her. Tony could feel Bucky’s confusion at not spotting the redheaded witch anywhere.

“Hey Snarky and Barky, down here.”

They both glanced down to see Natasha face staring back at them from the half-melted puddle on the ground. She rolled her eyes as Bucky swiped his paw through the puddle, the image rippling but settling right back into place. 

“Meet me back at the house. I might have a solution to one of your problems.”

With a blink, Natasha was gone.

Tony got to his feet, suppressing a yawn.  “We better get going before she turns us into toads. Don’t give me that look. You’d think that’d be a joke of sorts, but Natasha’s only gonna drop her wards for so long before she leaves us to fend for ourselves-”

* * *

“Took you long enough,” said Natasha as Tony entered the kitchen, “What happened? And why was Morgan here?”

Tony waved the silver envelope at her and Natasha’s eyes widened. “What’s the occasion?”

“Don’t know yet,” answered Tony. He grabbed a knife to slice open the wax seal on the back, stamped with the Carbonell family crest. “Somehow, it seems too good to be true that we managed to land this-”

“Managed to land what exactly?”

Bucky appeared at his side, back in human form and to Tony’s relief, wearing pants. Bucky rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder. Tony gently pried open the envelope. “Our ticket in. All the old families, including the Carbonells, love showing off whenever they can so they like to throw parties every once in a while-”

Tony trailed off as the letters slowly appeared on the page. 

_ You have been cordially invited to witness the bonding ceremony of  _

_ Arno Carbonell _

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I know what they want with your friend” replied Tony with a grimace. “Looks like they grabbed him in order to increase Arno’s chances of actually bonding with a demon.”

Bucky’s eyes darkened. “You’re saying they’re trying to force a familiar bond? I thought that’s impossible-”

“You’d think so,” sighed Tony. He scanned the invitation once again. ‘I wouldn’t put it past them to have found some way to sway the results. They wouldn’t be the first clan to try to swing things in their favour. We just have to figure out how to stop them.”

“Tony’s right,” interjected Natasha. “They probably would if they could, but not even Maria would break the rules of the ritual and risk her son. However, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have methods to try to  _ persuade  _ your demon friend to try and go through with the ceremony.”

Tony could feel the air crackle as Bucky tensed behind him. He reached behind him, intertwining their fingers and gently squeezing Bucky’s hand until he could feel Bucky settle. “Nat, any thoughts here?”

“Maybe.”

Natasha was already walking away, heaving a giant spellbook onto the table. “Unlike any other type of magic, the summoning circle for a familiar is supposed to supersede all other forms of magic. Once the spirit or demon steps through that circle, it’s supposed to cancel any intent of harm for both the witch and familiar.”

“And,” continued Natasha, “if they want the bond be recognized by the other clans-”

“-no outside interference,” said Tony, “no matter what happens. And with the lavish circus they’ll throw, it will be impossible for them to try anything during the ceremony with so many eyes on them.”

The older clans loved having any excuse to show off to one another. Even bonding ceremonies, traditionally a private affair, were now excuses to throw lavish parties. 

“But that is common knowledge.” Natasha continued, her eyes flickering towards Bucky. “It’s what makes attempting to bond with demons much more dangerous.”

“They’ve figured out a way to trap him,” exhaled Tony. His mind whirled as the pieces clicked into place. “They found a way to prevent Steve from teleporting away after the ceremony is over. I wouldn’t be surprised if they threatened to kill him if he didn’t comply.”

“Even if they did,” interjected Bucky, “Steve is stubborn enough that he’d rather die than become a familiar against his will.” Bucky started to pace back and forth. “There must be something else.”

“Unless-” Bucky stopped pacing. “-unless they’ve managed to grab an entire group of demons. Trap them all into summoning stones like I was.”

“That makes sense,” said Natasha. “It increases the odds that the ceremony is successful. Spare any willing to become a familiar, kill the rest.”

Tony frowned. “Trapping multiple demons takes a lot of power and a lot of forbidden magic to go against the confines of the ceremony.”

“But,” Tony continued, “that doesn’t force them into actually saying yes to a bond and stopping them from teleporting out afterwards.”

“I agree,” said Natasha after a long pause. “They must have some sort of backup plan in place. Something to persuade them into saying yes.” Natasha turned back to her book. “Okay, time to leave me alone.”

Before Tony or Bucky could protest, Natasha waved them out. “Go train, go braid each other’s hair, whatever, just leave me alone and go brood somewhere else for a bit. I might be able to find out more, but I need to think.  _ Alone. _ ”

The door slammed shut behind them. Bucky huffed. “She could’ve just waited for us to walk. So, now what?”

Tony shrugged. “We train.”


	7. Temperance

“You know when you said that we’d be training, I wasn’t expecting this.”

Tony didn’t even look up at the demon’s voice, only humming in response as he jotted more measurements down in his notebook. The worktable in front of him was an explosion of pieces of scrap metal and wiring. “What were you expecting exactly?”

“A little more..I don’t know. Something a little more magic and less terminator I guess?”

Tony slid his glasses further up onto his face as he finally looked up. Bucky was lounging on the couch in the corner, his feet perched over the sides. The demon had stacked a pile of cushions stolen from the living room under his head, yawning as he woke up from his afternoon nap.

He eyed the demon’s nest. “When did you sneak all that in?”

“An hour ago.” Bucky rolled over, his tail flicking behind him. He leaned against his arm. “I didn’t wanna distract you, so I made myself a pillow throne to wait.”

“Huh,” replied Tony.

Bucky grinned. “I’m gonna have a handful with you aren’t I?”

Tony tensed, his dropping his eyes back down to his notes. “Yeah. Probably should’ve realized that before huh?”

Tony could hear Bucky sigh before he felt arms wrap around his chest, Bucky’s chin resting itself on Tony’s shoulder. He could feel Bucky nudge him through their bond. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. It’s amazing really how wrapped up you get when you’re in the zone. My handsome genius.”

Tony relaxed. Even all these years later, it was still hard for him to show anyone something he made. With Bucky though- Tony could feel genuine curiosity through the bond. Bucky’s tail reached out to flip through the pages in his notebook. “Tell me about it. What are you making?”

Tony leaned back so Bucky could see. “There’s no way we’ll win on magic alone. It would be us walking to the gallows. So we’ll have to use something they’ll underestimate.”

“Mundane technology,” breathed Bucky his eyes gleaming.

Tony nodded and motioned in front of him.”I haven’t really made anything in a while, so I thought- if there’s any way we’re gonna win Steve back, it’s gotta be with something they won’t expect. Something they’ll never see coming.”

Tony reached forward and flicked on the switch. He could feel Bucky stiffen in surprise as the small scraps of metal on the table unfurled itself into a small clockwork bird. The centre of his chest had a bright blue runestone that shimmered. It’s eyes glowed a bright white light and it chirped as it hopped along the table towards them.

_“Jarvis! Jarvis look what I made!”_

_“Oh young sir, this is incredible. He looks just like a cardinal! What will you name him?”_

Tony held his breath as he held out his finger. The bird chirped in response, hopping delicately onto Tony’s finger with a flutter. Bucky let out a whistle behind him and leaned down closer to take a look. “That’s incredible! How is he moving- no, _breathing_ , like that?”

“Magic,” said Tony with an elated laugh. His skin was buzzing, tingling with excitement. It’s been ages since he’s flexed this part of his brain, and he didn’t realize how much he missed it until now. “A mix of mundane engineering and magic theory. With the right implementations and levels of transmutation, the possibilities can be-”

“Amazing” whispered Bucky.

Tony’s cheeks warmed and he looked away with a soft smile. A warmth filled his chest as he watched Bucky chuckle as Vision hopped onto his tail. He’d never seen Bucky hold that still before as he watched Vision jump onto his shoulder. “He’ll need a paint job, but I thought he’d be a good scout for us beforehand.”

“He’ll be amazing! What’s his name?”

_“Jarvis! His name is Jarvis! He’ll watch over you, just like you watch over me!”_

_“Oh young sir. I’m honoured.”_

“Vision,” swallowed Tony. His finger was shaking as he carefully pet the bird’s head. “His name is Vision.”

“ _Vision_. I get it. That’s clever.”

_Anthony, I’ve told you not to waste your time on this mundane trash. And yet, you’ve disobeyed me once again to make these worthless toys. So you tell me, what will your punishment be?_

Bucky gently tugged on Tony’s hand, intertwining Tony’s gloved fingers with his, jolting him back to Natasha’s study. Bucky’s metallic hand was much warmer than Tony would’ve imagined it to be. “It was their loss. All of this- it’s wonderful. _You’re_ wonderful. And fuck them for not seein’ that.”

“It’s their loss,” echoed Tony. He squeezed Bucky’s hand. “And their downfall.”

For Jarvis, for Steve, they will win.

* * *

Tony exhaled. His fingers moved on autopilot as they deftly tied his red silk tie into a neat full Windsor knot. His suit was tailored to fit perfectly, which was surprising because he hadn’t seen Jan in a few years.

_“Why are you so surprised? Before you were ambushed by Morgan, she was gonna send you her invitation” said Natasha. “Jan told me to scold you for not visiting her more often and that she expects you to go out to lunch with her once this mess is sorted out.”_

He smoothed out his jacket, and ran his fingers through his hair once again. Out of all the things from his old life, being able to dress up to the nines in a Van Dyne original was admittedly near the top of the list.

He slipped the small yellow and black glass bead back into the small pocket where he found it, tucked underneath his pocket square.

‘Just in Case’ said the note, written in Jan’s loopy handwriting.

With a final mirror check, Tony turned off the bathroom light and opened the door.

* * *

The garden gate swung open with a squeak. Natasha motioned to Tony and Bucky. “After you.”

Tony led the way into Natasha’s garden. The garden itself was lush and well-kept so Bucky had no problem keeping up alongside the humans as he padded down the winding path beside them in dog form. They passed rows and rows of vegetables before the grass grew longer, and soon, swatches of wildflowers covered the ground.

Right behind the group of apple trees, Natasha fished a golden key from her pocket. With a click and a flash of magic, the door to the garden shed swung open. “There you go.”

Tony huffed, before tugging Natasha into a tight hug. “Thanks. For everything.”

Natasha hummed. “Good luck. Don’t die.”

Tony pulled away with a laugh. “To the point as usual. Thanks, I’ll try.”

The sides of her lips twitched. She turned instead to Bucky, crouching slightly. “Take care of him. And don’t be stupid.”

Bucky snorted, and before Natasha could stand back up, he leaned forward and gave her a giant slobbery lick arross her face. Natasha grimaced. She used her sleeve to wipe at her face as she glared at Bucky. “I hate you. If Tony didn’t need you right now, you’d be a toad. You hear me? A toad.”

Bucky barked, his tongue hanging out of his mouth with a chuff of laughter.

Tony chuckled, motioning to Bucky. ‘Come on, we better get going before she changes her mind.”

Tony stepped inside the small shed. It was dark and it took a minute for him to find the string to turn on the light. Stepping past the table full of gardening tools and the bags of fertilizer, Tony stepped in front of the backdoor.

At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary door. Any normal person would likely walk past it without a second glance. But the closer they got, he could feel Bucky eye it with curiosity. While it was clearly a door, there was no handle, only a small letter slot.

He looked down towards his companion. “Ready?”

Bucky nodded his head, his tail wagging as he stayed close to Tony. _I’m ready. Are you?_

Tony paused for a moment. “Honestly, I’m terrified. But it doesn’t mean I can’t push through it and try.”

Tony removed the silver invitation from the envelope and carefully fed it into the mail slot. For a second nothing happened. Then like a vacuum, the invitation was sucked into the door. The door flashed a bright purple before a pale silver handle appeared on the door.

With a tug, Tony pulled the door open.

The inside of a large white gazebo greeted them as they stepped outside. Small faerie lights shimmered above them, dancing in the skies above them. The stone path weaved down past the hedge maze and a large sparkling white fountain.

Behind it loomed the beautifully gothic Carbonell mansion. It never did fail to inspire a sense of awe for anyone who saw it for the first time. As a child, Tony adored getting lost in it; he loved exploring and discovering new and interesting rooms. There was always a new adventure to find, a new secret to uncover. Now, staring up at the imposing house looming over them, Tony only felt a bubbling sense of impending doom.

With a hiss, the door shut and vanished behind them. Tony clenched his hands, his stomach knotting as the dread started to kick in. He relaxed a bit as Bucky pressed himself against Tony’s legs. Tony forced himself to unclench his hand, and curled it instead in Bucky’s fur.

“The Carbonell estate,” muttered Tony. “Welcome to the Thunderdome.”


	8. The Moon

At the foot of the stairs, Tony was surprised to see Morgan waiting for them.

She was dressed in a tight, form-fitting silver and blue dress paired with a white fur shawl covering her shoulders. Her platinum blonde hair was perfectly straightened, not a hair out of place. It was a far cry from the messy ponytail and ripped jeans that Tony fondly remembered her wearing a long time ago.

She smirked at them as they approached. “Oh good, you made it. At least things will be interesting tonight.”

Morgan nodded her head towards the mansion and without another word, she turned and started walking towards it. Tony and Bucky trailed behind her.

The sound of soft music and a chattering of voices drifted through the open windows towards them as they approached the back of the terrace.

“I have to say, I’m surprised you were sent to bring us in.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Why, don’t think I’d want to see my favourite cousin? Welcome him back home?”

“You hate formalities more than I do.”

Morgan snorted. “ Okay fine, I _volunteered_. Justin Hammer was already talking at me for half an hour, and I was about ready to stab him with my fork.”

Tony wrinkled his nose. “Okay that’s understandable. I’m surprised that no one else tried that yet..”

“I wish. He’s already five glasses of wine in, so hitting on anything that moves.  Besides, this way I get to see the look on Greg’s face when you walk through that door with a familiar of your own.”

They reached the foot of the stairs, the glass doors to the ballroom up ahead. Morgan sighed as she squinted ahead. “Damn. Looks like they’re already upstairs prepping.” Morgan saluted them with two fingers. Tony tried not to show how relieved he was at the prospect of not having to either of his brothers. Thankfully, Morgan was already eyeing a tray of champagne. “My job is done then I guess..”

With a swish of her dress, Morgan slid the french doors open. The music now hit them full blast as the jazz band continued their set.  Party goers chatted and laughed away, decked out in their finest suits and dresses. Animal familiars were also present; some of them stayed with their partners, tucked into their hair or by their feet. Others relaxed on couches and pillows sectioned off in the corner.

Tony could spot various members of the old clans, mingling and drinking as waiters twirled around the room with delicate appetizers. High pitched laughter filled the air, and underneath the glitz and glamour of it all, Tony could see the familiar dance. High-pitched laughter that was a little too shrill, compliments that flattered the recipient just enough, calculative probes and jokes made at the expense of others. Looking around, it seemed that the Carbonell matriarch had yet to make her appearance.

His eyes skimmed over the crowd to the far door on the other side; the bathroom was just a few doors away and if they could just get there without being interrupted-

“Ah, Anthony my boy! It’s been far too long since I’ve seen you!”

Tony snapped a smile onto his face, doing his best to hold back a wince as the man’s booming laughter filled the room. “Lord Hammer, it’s been a while.”

“I thought Maria had said that you were studying out of the country. I didn’t think you’d be back, and with a brand new familiar nonetheless. I must say, I’m rather disappointed that I didn’t receive my invitation to that ceremony. ”

Tony forced his smile wider. “Oh my apologies, it was actually a private ceremony.”

Lord Hammer’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, his face lighting up at the prospect of hearing scandalous gossip firsthand. Tony took the opportunity to make his escape. “Oh I’m sorry, it looks like I’m being summoned- if you’ll excuse me-”

Tony darted away before Lord Hammer could say another word. Bucky was next to him.

_No wonder you ran out of here screaming. Are they all like him?_

Tony nodded his head. “Unfortunately-”

A hand reached out to block his path, the grip on his shoulder tight, but firm. Tiberius was as handsome as ever, his blond hair mussed just enough with a winning smile that never failed to make Tony swoon.  Now though- the grip on his shoulder was tight, too tight, and no matter how much Tony wanted to throw his arm off, something in him froze.

“Hold on a minute, what’s the rush? We haven’t even gotten to catch up yet Ant.”

He felt like throwing up. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to be over this- over _him._ How was it that even years later, Tony still froze like a deer in headlights. He used to think that maybe Ty was some sort of fae. Maybe the reason that Tony was stupid enough to fall for the same tricks over and over again was because he was charmed, because he was bewitched by a potion or spell.

It was almost worse realizing that with Ty, there was no magic involved whatsoever.

Tony opened his mouth, but closed it again as his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth like glue. Why couldn’t he just open his mouth to tell him to fuck off?

A snarl cut off his thought spiral as Bucky wedged himself between the two men, breaking Ty’s hold. He couldn’t help but feel a curl of satisfaction when he saw Ty flinch at the large king shepherd growling at him with his teeth bared.

Tony took the opportunity to quickly step away, gripping Bucky’s fur. He did his best to focus on the softness of it. “Sorry, I’m on a mission to feed this one. He gets a bit peckish otherwise. Bye Ty.”

His feet moved automatically as he turned and ducked away. He barely registered Bucky maneuvering him out of the ballroom, nudging him gently until they were in the bathroom. He didn’t even realize he had sunk to the ground until Bucky’s hands gently cupped his cheeks.

“Hey, you’re okay, that’s it- just breathe. You’re alright Tony. I’ve got ya. You’re safe.”

Tony shuddered as he tried to match Bucky’s breathing, latching his fingers onto Bucky’s tail curled around his hand. He lost track of how much time had passed, but slowly Tony exhaled and released his grip.

“Sorry. I- we’re supposed to be helping you, not dealing with all my issues.”

“Don’t apologize for him. Whatever he’s done to you- it’s not your fault,” replied Bucky. “I was more than happy to scare him away. And believe me, there’s no way I’m gonna let him near you again if I can help it. Besides, I’d say we’re right on schedule.”

Tony smiled back, his cheeks burning a bit when he finally realized that Bucky wasn’t wearing a strip of clothing.

Determined not to sneak a peek when Bucky was staring at him so intently, he instead decided to stand back up, wincing as he got to his feet. Pins and needles pricked the soles of his feet, and he bounced as he tried to get some feeling back into them. He looked around the bathroom, his eyes locking onto the small vent above the toilet. “I guess so. And, thanks.”

Bucky winked. “It’s no problem sugar. I’ll be your guard dog any day.”

A warmth filled Tony’s chest. They weren’t just platitudes; Tony could feel just how genuinely Bucky wanted to make sure that Tony was alright before they left.

Bucky carefully stepped away, his arms held out in front of him. Not quite touching Tony, but ready to catch him if his legs were to give out again. “Anytime. Only when you’re ready.”

Tony shook his head. The feeling in his feet was returning, and they were already wasting enough time as it was. “I’ll be fine. Let’s do this.”

Tony pulled a small screwdriver out of his pocket, and unscrewed the vent. He popped it off and hid it behind the fainting couch in the corner. “How’s that?”

Bucky squinted inside. The vent was dark, but with the map that Tony had drew before, hopefully it wouldn’t take him long to find the basement. “It should work.”

Tony cracked open the window. Pinching his fingers between his lips he whistled sharply. A moment passed before Vision flitted up to the window, chirping as he landed on Tony’s shoulder.

Tony carefully held him up to the vent. “Okay, you’re gonna follow and help Bucky okay? Once you’re done, try and find your way back here and meet us back at Natasha’s.”

Vision whistled lowly, his eyes flashing as he hopped around in the vent, waiting for Bucky. Tony turned back to Bucky. “Ready?”

Bucky nodded. With a flash and pop, where Bucky once stood in his humanoid form was now a small grey mouse. Kneeling down, Tony held out his hand for Bucky to scurry onto. Bucky jumped out into the vent next to Vision.

Tony leaned forward. Reaching into his pocket, he tied the small vial onto the back of Bucky’s back with a piece of string. “Good luck. Remember, let me know if you need help and I’ll do what I can to come find you.”

_Got it. Hopefully that asshole will leave you alone now, but if he doesn’t, kick him in the balls._

Tony snorted. “Sounds like a plan. Don’t get caught.”

With a squeak and a chirp, Bucky and Vision disappeared down the vent, into the darkness.


	9. Judgement

Tony fiddled with his cheese plate, popping an olive into his mouth while he stood in the corner of the ballroom. The party was still in full swing and according to the time on his watch, Bucky and Vision were gone for a good half an hour.

He munched on a mini quiche, forcing himself not to look at his watch or the door again for the hundredth time. 

“You know those go straight to your hips right?”

Morgan downed the rest of the wine in her glass before she set it down on an empty ledge beside them. Tony glared at her, not breaking eye contact as he shoved another one into his mouth.

“Bored already?”

Morgan stabbed an olive off his plate. “Starving mostly. Everyone’s too busy gossiping about whether or not Arno’s gonna aim for a powerful animal familiar, or just try to summon a demon,”

Tony swallowed tightly. “And you?”

Morgan shrugged. “Ever since you decided to pack up and disappear, Auntie hasn’t had a clear favourite. Knowing Arno, he’ll go for a demon if he wants any chance of becoming her successor. But hey, you can ask him yourself at dinner.”

Tony frowned. “Wait, what?”

The dinner gong echoed loudly throughout the room and the band slowly quieted down. The main doors swung open and the crowd slowly started to filter into the dining room.

Behind Morgan, Tony followed the crowd into the dining room. Each table had a giant crystal centerpiece that bathed the midnight blue tablecloths in in a soft light. The head table was slightly raised above the rest in the centre of the room. It was a warm and clear evening so the full moon shined brilliantly on them through the clear glass ceiling. 

A flash of metal flying overhead had Tony stumbling. Wait-

_ Vision’s alright. I sent him back to Natasha. _

Bucky appeared at his side a moment later. Tony felt some of the tension melt out of him as Bucky, back in dog form, padded beside him. 

“How did it go?”

_ Good. There were two other demons being held with him. You were right, they were tethered to the summoning stones. I slipped Steve the vial, before me and Viz slipped back out. _

“Did anyone see you?”

_ Other than Steve and company, not that I saw. Apparently, the clan managed to find a way to destroy a demon sealed inside the stone. So they gave Steve and the rest of the demons a deal; at the ceremony, all of them get to fight each other and prove themselves as the strongest demon to be picked as a familiar. The strongest one will get picked, the rest destroyed. And if none of them try, or one of them doesn’t show up, all their stones will be destroyed. _

Tony clenched his jaw as a dark, rage filled him. This- this is why so many mundane stories of evil witches came to be. With shit like this, who could blame them?

“Excuse me Mr. Carbonell.”

Tony and Bucky eyed each other before they both stepped to the side, out of the way of the crowd still trickling in. One of the servers motioned them to follow him. “This way if you please. Lady Carbonell has requested that you sit with them at the head table for the evening.”

Tony exhaled deeply. “I guess we have no other choice.”

He gently rested his hand on top of Bucky’s head.  _ Remember, no matter what happens, no matter what they say or taunt us with,  _ **_don’t_ ** _ reveal to them that you’re a demon familiar. _

_ And why aren’t we lording this over your siblings again? _

_ Because buttercup, our priority is not to win a stupid pissing contest I don’t care about winning. We’re here to rescue your friend. If we play our cards right, we can swing those other ones as well. But that means, no giving away our advantage. _

_ Fine. But if things start getting out of hand- I don’t care, I’m gonna get us out of here. _

“Right this way sir.”

At the head table, Greg was seated next to Arno, and the two of them were already chatting away. Morgan was beside them, ignoring them as she examined her red nails. Notably, his mother had yet to make an appearance, her seat glaringly empty. At Tony’s approach, Morgan did a double take and Tony could see the glee on her face at their approach. 

“Tony! Unfortunately for you, Auntie is too busy to sit with us tonight, but I’m sure you’ll see her later.”

Morgan’s eyes glinted and Tony tried not to snort. She knew very well how much he  _ didn’t _ want to run into his mother this evening. But at least now he knew that Morgan was the  _ Lady Carbonell _ that made the request. Then again, it was hard to really be surprised; Morgan always loved the drama. 

“And of course, your familiar needs to join us as well. My apologies, I don’t think I got his name last time?”

Tony pulled the chair out beside him so that Bucky could jump onto the chair beside him and slid into the seat next to Morgan across from Arno and Greg. He ignored how their conversation skidded to a complete stop as they stared at him in shock. He turned to Morgan instead.

“Bucky.” Tony placed a hand on Bucky’s head. “This is Bucky.”

Morgan’s shit eating grin had Tony feeling sorry for Arno and Greg. Well, almost. Bucky sat up straight in his chair, staring imposingly at them unblinkingly. Morgan gasped dramatically, “Oh of course, of course, how silly of me! How wonderful to see that Tony was matched with such a powerful and striking familiar.”

Tony bit his lip, so he wouldn’t laugh. Morgan leaned forward, stage whispering so that Arno and Greg could hear them perfectly. At this angle, Tony could just spot the small crimson weasel hidden under her coat, wrapped around her neck. Huh. 

“How could I forget that you managed to summon an animal familiar of his size all on your own? Don’t you think that’s impressive Greg? Arno? Your baby brother managed to summon him all on his own!”

Arno looked like he swallowed a sour grape. Greg was also frowning, but he also looked reluctantly impressed. “Didn’t think you were interested in a familiar. What made you change your mind?”

Tony set down his spoon, his voice nonchalant. “Oh you know how it is, when spirits are drawn to your magic, and you feel that instant connection.”

“Of course,” bit Arno, “I’m sure that we can talk about it later.”

Arno pushed out his chair. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a ceremony to prepare for. Greg, a  word?”

Tony watched as they both left the hall, whispering intently. Morgan whistled lowly. “Jealousy isn’t a great colour on them. But Greg did bring up an interesting point. Why come back? I thought you hated it here?”

Tony finished cutting up the steak on his plate and slid it across the table for Bucky. “Let’s just say I have unfinished business. Believe me, I’m not sticking around.”

They ate in a comfortable silence for a short while. Morgan tilted her head, her gaze considering. Tony did his best not to fidget and focused entirely on his food in front of him. While Morgan was never interested in clan politics or even the successor title, she was always the most observant. 

“Do you really think that?” Morgan back in her chair and popped a small chocolate into her mouth.“Do you really think the clan is going to let you run around and do what you want forever?”

“They haven’t stopped me so far,” answered Tony. 

“Oh please, you can’t really believe that they haven’t been keeping track of you ever since you’ve left. And that was before you summoned a powerful familiar. Now, there’s no way they’ll leave you alone.”

Tony closed his eyes. “They can try I guess.”

The dinner gong echoed once again, and the large doors to the ballroom creaked open. Morgan grabbed a handful of cookies before standing up. “Showtime.”

She raised a glass. “Here’s to whatever you two have cooked up. Best of luck, you’re gonna need it..”

She downed the glass and with a wink, she strolled away. 

_ Should we be worried about her? _

Tony considered the question as he watched his cousin wander past other tables, stealing cheese off other people’s plates. “No,” exhaled Tony. He watched as Morgan stole another woman’s hat without her noticing, sliding it onto her head. “She would’ve said something to Arno and Greg if she was planning to. I think- I think that was her way of her telling us she was on our side.”

Bucky leapt off the chair.  _ Alright. I’ll take your word for it. Did she just steal that man’s hair piece? _

“Yep. She always hated it. We better get going before she tries to pin the crime on us.”

* * *

The ballroom was completely transformed from how it was an hour ago. Rows and rows of chairs lined the edges of the room, most of them already filled as they entered. The raised stage where the band was playing was now arranged in the middle of the room.

Two clan members were on the stage, drawing a large protection circle around the edges. In the centre, The ceremonial bowl on the ground was much more elaborate than the one that Tony used. It was silver with gold embellishments, and the distinguishable Carbonell crest engraved on the side. Bronze dragons with small jewels for eyes were wrapped around the sides.

A hush fell over the room as the Carbonell matriarch entered the room. Dressed in the traditional ceremonial robes of the Carbonells, her almost metallic robes flared in the light as she took center stage, Arno not far behind her. He was dressed in much simpler black robes and stood behind his mother as she addressed the crowd. 

“Welcome friends and esteemed guests,” said Maria.

Claps filled the air and Tony couldn’t help but tense as her eyes swept over the crowd and towards them. He exhaled in relief as she turned around to address the crowd seated behind as the applause died down. “On behalf of the Carbonell clan and my son, Arno, we are honoured that you were able to join us this evening as witnesses his bonding ceremony. Without further ado, I leave the floor to you son.”

Her steps were graceful, her head held high as she descended the stairs, not a hair out of place. As soon as Maria sat down, Arno began tracing his inner protection circle within the larger circle cast earlier. 

The air was thick with anticipation as everyone’s eyes were locked onto Arno as he begun the the summoning. After filling the cup with the small bones, Arno sat back and waited.

A minute passed, and then another, before the distant chiming of a clock struck twelve. With that, Arno began the ceremony. 

With the addition of the small bones, the crowd started to whisper excitedly at the indication of an attempt to call forth a demon. Soon, the tall white candles were all lit. A small flask of water was poured into the mortar and pestle over the bones. 

_ Water? Didn’t you use blood? _

“Arno’s affinity is water, while mine is earth and fire,” whispered Tony. “For him, water will be easier to work with. It’s still difficult, just in a different way. In theory, blood makes summoning demons much easier, but since he doesn’t have to worry about that-”

A hush came over the crowd once more as Arno began the call.

“Water and bone, smoke and flame, I summon thee from the eternal plane-”

Wisps of smoke started to fill the air as the water started to boil. It was faint, but Tony could see the small yellow threads of magic sizzling in the air. Arno continued to crush and grind the bones in the water, chanting all the while. 

“Water and bone, smoke and flame, I summon thee from the eternal plane-”

_ Do you see it? Look at his sleeves.  _

Tony leaned forward. Arno’s sleeves dangled dangerously close to the mortar. Tony inhaled sharply. At the flick of Arno’s wrist, Tony spotted a few flashes of blue tucked away in his sleeve.

_ Yeah. He’s got all three summoning stones hidden up there.  _

“Water and bone, smoke and flame, I summon thee from the eternal plane-”

Three loud cracks filled the room as three figures appeared in the circle around Arno. Two male demons and a female demon appeared, tails twitching as they glared at the witch in the centre.

All at once, the audience exploded into conversation as they eyed not one, but  _ three _ demons standing in the circle.


	10. The Tower

Tony could see how his mother’s eyes narrowed more than usual, as she watched the crowd break out into heated discussions. While her face was composed, Tony could see the small twitch of a smile as the clan heads stewed beside her. Lady Alitha Stone was stormy faced as stared forward. Her husband, Lord Franklin, clenched his jaw as his face turned redder and redder. For once, the Hammers were almost dead silent as they watched the proceedings unfold. 

Back on the stage, the first male demon didn’t bother to hide his annoyance, his tail flicking back and forth behind him. His blond hair was floppy, and Tony swore that his tail wafted the scent of freshly roasted coffee into the rest of the room. 

The female demon reminded Tony a bit of Nat actually; she had short blond hair and stood tall as she scanned the crowd with precision, easily silencing the gawking spectators with a look.

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute…”

His head whipped over to Bucky.  _ How do  _ **_they_ ** _ all have clothes when they were summoned? Why were you naked? _

Bucky huffed.  _ Do you know how uncomfortable it is in there? Of course I stripped. No clothes is much better. It’s not like I was expecting to be standing in front of a crowd anyways. _

Tony shook his head, turning back towards the figures in the middle. The largest one had blond hair and blue eyes. He towered over Arno with his arms crossed. Tall, blond and beefy was staring back at them, nodding slightly when Tony looked back at them. This was Steve then. Of course had to have a chiseled jaw, with abs of fucking steel- were all demons unfairly attractive?

_ No, that’s all us sugar. Glad to know you like Steve’s abs. It’s entirely unfair how he’s managed to keep them, even with all the junk he eats. He’ll be pleased that you like them.  _

“Don’t you dare tell him that,” hissed Tony. 

_ Aww why not? You’re hot, we’re hot, it’s only natural babe- _

“We’ll talk about this later.”

Arno cleared his throat. “I am Arno Carbonell of the Carbonell clan. As all three of you demons answered my call, I will give each of you an opportunity to convince me why you would like to become my familiar-” 

“Not interested” interrupted Steve. Arno cleared his throat, clearly taken aback. “Excuse me?”

“You heard the man,” said the female demon to his right, She cocked her head to the side. “It looks like a pretty shitty deal to me. What would we get out of it?”

“A chance for greatness, the  _ honour _ to be tied to the heir of one of the most powerful clans-”

“Yawn. You’re boring me already.” The shorter blond demon rolled his eyes. “What sigils did you try to use to summon us anyways? Let’s see- oh look Steve-”

The demon squatted down as he examined the summoning circle drawn onto the stage. “He put a call out for ‘the all-powerful’ and ‘mighty’. Guess that leaves you out Steve, I saw you cry when you stubbed your toe on a doorknob-”

“Really Clint, is this the time-”

Snickers from the crowd had Arno clenching his jaw. He stepped forward, “now wait a minute-”

“It's too bad he didn’t specify anything about ‘taking over the world’” continued Clint, “That probably would’ve been more useful to you. Kids these days, never doing their research properly. My only specialty is making coffee. Carol over here could probably stab you, but she’s really shitty at filling out paperwork-”

Full on laughter broke out this time, and the demon, Clint, looked towards the crowd and his smile widened. He waved to the crowd. “How embarrassing. Well you know kid, everyone has performance issues every once in a while. Maybe there’s a potion you can take for that, I’m sure your clan has something kicking around for you-”

“SILENCE!” roared Arno with a snarl. He lifted the mortar into the air. Tony inhaled sharply as he saw the flashes of blue stone fall into the mortar. 

Tony leaned over to Bucky, “Did you see that?”

_ “Yeah. Looks like he’s desperate. I doubt we’re the only ones who noticed.” _

Arno dropped his voice, and Tony could just barely make out what he was saying with the whispering crowd around them. “I would think carefully about your next words demons, they could be your last-”

This time it was Steve who stepped forward, his eyes flashing gold. “No. We’ve listened to you long enough. Now it’s my turn.”

His arm flashed forward, and Tony heard the vial shatter, the dispelling potion spilling into the mortar, covering the stones. A hissing noise filled the air as the potion drowned the stones. Three loud cracking noises filled the air as the protection circle binding them fizzled out. 

The three demons stepped outside the circle, eyeing the rest of the room. Steve’s voice was loud and booming. “Let this be a warning to anyone who would dare try to bind us against our will. Anyone who attempts this again will make an enemy of us  _ all. _ ”

And with that, the three demons disappeared. 

For a moment, the room was completely and utterly silent. A second later, it was like a dam had broken with everyone talking at once. Maria was furious and she stormed onstage to pull her son aside.  

Tony exhaled deeply “Holy shit, that worked.”

_ “Yeah, Let’s not celebrate till we’re outta here..”  _

Tony stood with the rest of the crowd. As Maria had whisked her son away from the crowd, the servers were clearly trying to restore some sort of order as they ushered the guests back into the dining room. “Yeah, we can sneak out the back before dessert. Come on.” 

They followed the crowd and slowly made their way to the edges of the room. Tony quietly opened the side door. “This way.”

The hallway was dark, illuminated only by a few floating sconces. The light cast dancing shadows across the statues and suits of armour that decorated the long halls. Tony and Bucky ducked around the corner, past the bathroom and towards the garden doors. The glass doors were in sight as they skidded to a stop.

“Fuck, it’s locked.”

_ Can’t you just blast it open? _

“And call the attention of everyone in this house? I don’t think so. We’re just gonna have to try another door-”

Tony felt Bucky tense behind him,  _ “Watch out!” _

Tony leapt to the side just in time. A giant sword swung down into the floor, cracking the ground where he stood seconds ago. Bucky jumped back snarling as he turned around.

“Not so fast.”

Tony spotted a flash of movement as a giant black collar was tossed over Bucky’s neck. White sparks of electricity pulsed and Bucky howled before slumping over onto the ground. Tony surged forward with a growl, but Greg raised the long leash. “Go ahead, try it. The harder I pull, the tighter it gets. We can see how long your mutt lasts before he faints.” 

“What do you want Greg?”

Greg’s eyes darkened. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to really talk one on one don’t you think? What a coincidence you happened to show up tonight of all nights hmm?”

He snapped his fingers and Tony jolted as he felt his arms being grabbed on both sides. Two suits of armour held onto him tightly as they marched him between them back down the hallway they came. Another grabbed Bucky, tossing him over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes before trailing behind them. 

Tony cursed as Greg unlocked the door to Maria’s study. His mind raced as he tried to wiggle his hands out. 

“Look, it can happen to any of us- no one could’ve guessed what would’ve happened-”

“Don’t you fucking lie to me Tony.”

.The door swung open with a creak. “After you.”

Tony dug his heels in. “Look this is all just a big misunderstanding-”

The sharp sting of magic rang out against the stillness of the hallway. Tony’s cheek tingled and his vision grew dark. Greg’s voice was far away as Tony swayed, slipping into unconsciousness. 

“I warned you not to lie to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sharp eyes will notice that I upped the number of chapters - I went back in and added more while editing, so you'll get two more chapters after this one. Let me know what you think!


	11. Death

Tony rose from the ground with a jolt. Slowly but surely, the world came back into focus. It took a few seconds for him to take in the large mahogany desk, the floor to ceiling bookshelves and the looming portraits of his ancestors. He grimaced, peeling his face off the plush red carpet of his mother’s study.

“Finally.”

Greg had his chin propped up against his fist as he lounged in one of the giant armchairs by the fire. Turning away from him, Tony’s eyes scanned the room for Bucky, his stomach clenching as he located his familiar. Bucky was unmoving beside him, his eyes glassy as the collar sparked and glowed. Tony glared as he crawled towards his familiar. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

“Nothing compared to what I’m gonna do to you, if you don’t tell me how you managed to sneak in here and ruin things.”

Tony winced as he felt a sharp kick to his side. Greg knelt down beside him, his fingers wrapping tightly around Tony’s lapel. “You think I don’t know you did something? Showing up after spitting on the family name after years of wanting nothing to do with us?”

“You invited  _ me- _ ”

“Oh come on, you weren’t actually supposed to show up!” 

Tony kicked his legs out, but Greg tightened his grip. “Then you stroll in here with your mutt pretending like nothing’s happened, like you didn’t abandon us, expecting us to welcome you with open arms?”

Tony clenched his hand, his metal fingers gleaming in the low light of the hanging lanterns. “You really think me not coming back after the clan tossed me out on my ass after I _ lost my fucking arm _ , telling me it’s a  _ lesson to be learned _ was  _ me _ abandoning  _ you?” _

Tony yanked Greg’s face down and hissed in his ear. “Believe me, coming back here was the  _ last _ thing I ever wanted to do. I’m not the one trapping demons and torturing them into saying yes-”

The slap rang out and Tony could feel the ringing in his cheek. Greg hissed. “We did what we had to do to survive-”

A flash of red and Greg hit the back wall with a thump. Tony stumbled to his feet, his hands still smoking. “ _ Nothing _ justifies imprisoning demons against their will-.”

White lightning snaked out of the floor and shocked Tony with a crackle. With a scream, Tony dove out of the way, a sharp burning pain running through him. Greg’s hands glowed white as he took aim again. “You have no idea what you’ve done-”

Greg leapt out of the way as Tony aimed another fireball at him. The bookshelf on the side crashed to the ground as it toppled over, books spilling out onto the ground. Greg shot beam after beam of lighting, scorching the wall as Tony rolled and ducked. He reached into his pocket and flung the yellow and black bead into the room. 

With a bang, a swarm of wasps filled the air, swallowing Greg, who cursed as he raised his arms. A shield of lighting had the wasps dropping to the ground all at once. Tony hid behind the far desk, as Greg circled around again. 

“There’s a clan war brewing, and no matter how much you want to duck your head in the sand, you’re going to have to pick a side-”

Tony winced as the shattering glass flew into his arm, blood started dripping onto the carpet. Gritting his teeth, he rolled through the shards of broken glass to narrowly avoid the spear of lighting. Blood dripping from his arms, Tony smeared it into his hands. “I could care less about your hundred year pissing contest.”

Tony slammed his hands down onto the ground and threw up a glowing red shield. Greg shrieked as the lighting recoiled and slammed back into his own chest. With a roar, Greg flung a cone of lighting towards him. The shattering of glass was the only warning he had before Tony was tackled onto the ground this time from the other side. 

Arno snarled as he tried to grab a hold of Tony’s arms. Tony brought his knee up, slamming it into Arno’s groin before he flipped them both over. Arno yelled before his hands flashed purple. Tony could feel the air compress around him before he was thrown into into the wall again. Tony kicked his legs to no avail as he hovered above the ground. 

The air grew heavier and heavier and Tony gasped for air. Invisible hands tightened around his neck as Arno squeezed. 

Arno laughed. “Nothing to say? That’s a first. I’d say it’s a shame, but that’s not really true is it?” 

Dark spots began to fill Tony’s vision as he tried to focus. Arno was in front of him now, patting Tony’s face. “Nice try Tony. I have to give it to you, your trick with the dispelling potion was pretty good. Pity that it will never work on us again-”

Tony crashed to the ground, gasping as the breath filled his lungs. Steve stood in the doorway, his tail flicking back and forth as he stood over an unconscious Greg, looking over towards the still paralysed Bucky. Arno snarled, his eyes darting towards Tony before yanking him to his feet. 

He wrapped one arm around Tony’s neck, holding his glowing hand to Tony’s temple. “Be careful what you do next demon.” 

Tony watched as Steve’s face melted into horror and disgust. “You would really do that to your own brother?”

Arno tilted his head. “If I have to, I will.” 

Anger boiled deep within Tony. He looked at Steve and then towards Bucky, slumped over behind the desk. “Get him out safe. I’ll be fine.”

Steve inhaled sharply, his hands twitching at his side. He stuck out his chin. “I won’t leave you.” 

Tony sighed. “Suit yourself.”

Tony relaxed his body entirely, deadweighting so that Arno had to take on all of his body weight, causing Arno to stumble forwards as Tony rolled. Arno grappled him, wrapping his arms tightly around Tony as they rolled together. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Tony was relieved to see that Steve was working to pry the collar off of Bucky. Tony yelled in warning as he saw Arno’s arm flash towards Steve and Bucky. In the nick of time, Steve’s tail flicked up and a glowing blue and white shield diffused the shot into the ceiling.  Arno’s ther fist fist swung out and Tony moved his head out of the way, wincing as the floor underneath cracked at the lighting crater. 

“Enough!”

All of a sudden, Arno was flung off Tony into the other corner. Tony tried to jump to his feet, but every limb was sluggish as he struggled to his feet. Maria stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. 

Steve was frozen in the corner, unmoving like time stopped around him. On the other side of the room, Arno struggled to his feet. “Mama-”

“Quiet! You have caused enough of a ruckus tonight. I’ll deal with you later. Leave us. Now. Go deal with the mess you’ve left with our guests.”

Arno murmured his agreement, and stole a glance at Tony before he ran out of the room. 

Maria turned to Tony. “I admit I’m impressed with the mess you’ve managed to make in the short amount of time you’ve been back. So, you tell me. What will your punishment be?”

“ _ So, you tell me. What will your punishment be?” _

Tony froze. In that moment, Tony was eight years old again, standing in front of his mother with dread as her cold eyes appraised him, taking him apart piece by piece while she thought about what to do with him. Then, a flash of silver caught his eye and a hot searing anger seeped deep into his bones as he caught a glimpse of Bucky and Steve in the corner. 

He faced his mother and lifted his chin. “Word on the street was that the clan’s been trapping demons against their will. The only thing I did was give them a fighting chance-”

“By stripping your brother’s chance of his?”

“If he’s as powerful and strong as he says he is, as  _ you want him to be _ , then he should be able to do it on his own- without imprisoning demons against their will!”

The air was sucked out of the room as Maria’s eyes darkened. Her nostrils flared, and she reached out to wrap her fingers around Tony’s blue necklace, squeezing tightly. “How dare you boy. You dare come in here and lecture  _ me _ about what’s right-”

A chillng blast of ice hit Maria square in the back and she recoiled, stepping back. Bucky was on his feet in human form, the collar crushed beneath his feet. He stepped past the glaring Steve,  his tail swaying dangerously behind him as his eyes flashed gold. 

“Don’t touch him.”

Maria’s face slackened in shock. It was the first time Tony saw such an expression on his mother’s face. “A demon familiar. You managed to bind a demon familiar.”

Bucky was at his side in an instant. With Bucky’s hand on Tony’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly, Tony felt a surge of strength. He lifted his chin. “Yeah, all without your help. And I didn’t even need to blackmail anyone into saying yes.”

Tony stepped forward, making sure to break her line of sight with Steve. He and met his mother’s gaze dead on.

“Don’t mistake this for me coming back,” continued Tony.

“ _ Anthony _ -”

“You’ve made it more than clear that you have no interest in me, just the powers I have.” 

Saying it out loud after all these years, finally admitting it to himself, Tony couldn’t help but feel a giant wave of relief. “I’ll stay out of your business, your clan wars, don’t worry. But if you ever try to pull anything like what you did to those poor demons again- I’m going to finish what I started.”

Tony waited, but only silence filled the room as Maria wordlessly watched them. Tony turned to Bucky and the newly un-frozen Steve. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Tony started walking towards the door, Bucky and Steve flanking him on either side. 

“Did you really think that we’re the only ones doing this?”

Tony paused for a second. He turned around. “Then we’ll destroy them all.”

Maria scoffed. “You foolish child, Do you really think you can take them all on your own? If you want any chance of winning, you’ll need to have the Carbonell name behind you.” 

“We’ll find a way. After all, you made it clear that I’m a Stark, not a Carbonell, remember?”

And without another word, Tony turned around and started marching. With Bucky and Steve at his side, Tony walked past the broken shards of glass, down the steps and out into the dark garden below.

* * *

“Greg.”

“Yes mama?”

“How many people did we have watching Anthony?”

“Just the one.”

“Send a few more. I want regular reports. No matter what the boy thinks, he’s a Carbonell. I want him on our side when things escalate.”

“Yes mama. Right away.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're reaching the end here soon, so it's time for a poll. 
> 
> 1.) The lovely Sobri who drew some art back in chapter five was asking for a sequel in exchange for some more art, so if there *was* a sequel to this work, what would you want to read about? Any characters/things you want to see?
> 
> 2.) If you have any questions you want clarified about what happened in this story, ask them down below. If there's enough questions, I may answer a few of them in a bonus Q and A post over on tumblr which I'll link in the next chapter.
> 
> That's all for now! One fluffy epilogue to go! <3


	12. The World

A crash had Tony jumping to his feet. “DUM-E! What are you doing in there?”

A series of urgent beeps had Tony running into the workshop. Tony skidded to a stop. Clint raised his hands, and his tail, up into the air. “I didn’t do it!”

Tony narrowed his eyes. For some reason, the workbench was _covered_ in different types of coffee pots, all plugged into various power bars. Tony spotted no less than five different types of french presses, and a handful of espresso machines. Mugs of all sizes lined the the other table, half of which were filled with what Tony hoped was coffee.

“You’re the only one in here with opposable thumbs Barton. What are you even doing in here anyways?”

Clint waved towards DUM-E, “DUM-E was telling me all about how he’s a smoothie connoisseur.”

“He was?”

“Hey, I speak fluent robot okay?” sniffed Clint. “Anyways, like I was saying, DUM-E heard me talking all about coffee and wanted to learn! So I thought I’d show him the ropes.”

DUM-E let out a series of excited beeps as he waved around a giant carafe of coffee. Tony could see that his regular party hat was replaced with a sparkly pink tiara that read ‘Coffee Queen’.  

Tony shook his head fondly. “Good job your majesty. So, how much motor oil have you drank so far?”

“Too many cups to count,” lamented Clnt. “He’s getting better though.”

“Just make sure to clean everything up. And don’t destroy any more of my mugs! Are you joining us back for dinner?”

“Got it! I’ll be there later!”

Tony waved then walked around the corner. He counted to ten, wincing at the sound of shattering porcelain.

“Sorry!”

* * *

Tony unlocked his door with a click. “I’m home!”

“Welcome back sweetheart!!”

Steve popped his head out from the kitchen, his tail flicking back and forth in a wave. It definitely took some time getting used to coming home to the buff demon wearing a frilly white apron as he cooked in the kitchen. “I managed not to burn the sauce this time!”

Tony chuckled as he leaned in to stir the sauce. “Much better than last time, Julia Childs.”

Steve beamed. “I hope so. Bucky should be back soon.”

Tony shrugged off his messenger bag. “He’s scouting the perimeter again? I thought Carol was with you today?”

Steve hummed. “Bucky’s giving those clan spies of yours a runaround.”

Tony shook his head fondly. “Well at least he’s having fun messing with them.”

No longer working the crossroads, Bucky enjoyed spending time finding ways to mess with the Carbonell spies. Steve wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulder. ‘Well if they know what’s good for them, they’ll give up sooner than later.”

“I doubt it,” sighed Tony. “Knowing my mother, they’d rather chase Bucky around town than deal with her wrath. And what about Carol? I thought she’d take every chance possible to tag along and torment them with Bucky.”

Steve tugged Tony into a hug. Tony could feel him grin into his hair. “She’s visiting your friend Rhodey today. Making sure he’s not getting into ‘trouble’.”

Tony scoffed. “Oh please. Like we all don’t know they stir up infinitely more trouble together. When will they admit they like each other?.”

Tony could feel Steve’s laugh. “Unfortunately, not even Natasha’s able to predict that one.”

They stood there for a while, Steve’s arms wrapped tightly around him. They were warm and safe, and Tony loved how he felt like he fit just right tucked under Steve’s chin. It definitely took some time for Tony to get used to, having Bucky and Steve both wanting him.

_“I can see why he likes you,” grinned Steve. Or at least, that’s what he thought Steve said. It was entirely too distracting trying to focus when Steve was leaning in this close and Tony could see the blue speckles in his gold eyes._

_“And what is that?”_

_“Smart, caring, sexy, loyal, basically everything I like too” winked Steve. “Plus, I hear you like my abs.”_

Another pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. Bucky pressed a soft kiss to the side of Tony’s forehead “Aren’t we all snuggly today?”

Before Tony could answer, Bucky pulled him into a deep, toe tingling kiss. Tony sighed in contentment as Bucky pulled away. Steve used his tail to gently tilt Tony’s chin up and Tony leaned in eagerly, only to whine as Steve leaned forward with a chaste peck to his lips.

Tony pouted, but Steve pushed him back gently. He stepped away from Tony’s arms and turned back to the stove. “No making out and getting distracted until after dinner. It’s the first time I didn’t fuck up this sauce!”

Bucky groaned as Tony pried himself out of their arms. “Come on, Steve worked really hard on the food.”

“It’s actually pretty good.”

Steve and Bucky jumped at the voice coming from the other corner of the room. Pepper blinked at them from the top of the table, licking away at a small bowl of sauce she somehow managed to scoop out of the pot on the stove.

Steve gaped at her. “When did you get here?!”

Pepper rolled her eyes before turning to Tony. “I’d like some bread to go with this please.”

Tony shook his head fondly. “Sure Pepper. Steve, some bread?”

Steve was still staring at Pepper mouth wide open.Bucky closed his eyes, patting Steve’s shoulder. “You’ll get used to it.”

“But- my wards-”

“They were well done,” reassured Pepper, “and they’ll keep most people out. But we have a backdoor.”

“...we?”

“This is good, but it would be better with bread,” said Natasha as she strolled into the kitchen. She swirled her fork around in through her pasta. Pepper nodded from the table. “That’s what I said.”

“I concur” interjected Phil from his perch on Natasha’s shoulder.

Steve rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. “Yes please, join us for dinner.”

“It’s an honour,” agreed Pepper solemnly.

“Phil only shows up when the food is really good, so you should be honoured,” said Natasha.

Tony rolled his eyes. “If you assholes are gonna just show up. You better have brought dessert-”

Natasha nodded her head towards the fridge. “There’s a baked alaska in there.”

Steve’s eyes lit up. He had the biggest sweet tooth out of anyone Tony’s ever known. “Garlic toast okay?”

Tony smiled as he leaned against the wall. Bucky tugged him back against his chest. “You’re happy.”

“I am. In a million years, I’d never dream of having this.”

“Four demons and a witch fighting over garlic toast?”

Tony laughed. “Basically.”

Bucky hummed and he nuzzled Tony’s neck with a sigh. They stood there for a while, happy to watch their little family poke and prod at each other.

“Come on.”

Tony tugged Bucky behind him, intertwining their fingers.

They were home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! For future updates, feel free to subscribe to After Midnight if you haven’t already, I'll probably post some sort of announcement with a bit of a preview if/when a sequel does go up!
> 
> As promised, for a bit of bonus content and answered questions, check out the bonus post [here](https://summerpipedream.tumblr.com/post/184851654029/after-midnight-bonus-qa)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Wheel of Fortune: Preview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preview: Months after the events at the Carbonell mansion, Tony, Steve and Bucky have settled into a somewhat normal routine. Well, as normal as could be for a witch and two demons. As Halloween draws near however, a visitor from Steve and Bucky’s past threatens to destroy the peace they’ve worked hard to achieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I thought it would be fun to dip back into this world for Halloween - it's not the full sequel I was thinking of, but enjoy a short delve back into this verse ;)
> 
> This is a preview of the first chapter. The full first chapter is posted now - you can check it out by going to the next story in the series, After Midnight: Hallow's Eve - make sure to subscribe there for chapter update notifications!

Steve rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder, his arms curled loosely around Tony’s waist. The human witch always felt so warm and soft wrapped up in his arms. 

It had been a few months since he, Tony and Bucky had settled into their new relationship. It was definitely an adjustment slipping into a more defined relationship with Bucky, but also with a human witch.

It had always been him and Bucky against the world, so slipping into something more felt as natural as breathing. Looking back at it now, it seemed odd that they hadn’t really fallen into anything more before now. It never did feel like the right timing. Probably because Tony wasn’t there with them yet.

Speaking of Tony, it hadn’t been hard for Steve to see why Bucky adored the human so much, why Bucky had no qualms about tying himself to Tony as a familiar so soon.

He was smart, funny and so kind, a diamond in the rough. One that Steve had no intentions of letting go anytime soon. A part of him felt a twinge of jealousy, that Tony had accepted Bucky and not him as a familiar. But then the guilt would set in. Necessity had forced their soul bond so early on, in order to save  _him_. 

How could he ever fault them for that?

After all he was happy,  _they_ were happy, and Steve would do everything in his power to hold onto whatever his loves were willing to give.

Steve wrapped his arms around Tony, who leaned back to look up at him with a grin. Steve tugged at the hat perched on Tony’s head with a laugh.

“Is that..a witch’s hat?”

Tony nodded, adjusting the pointed hat in the mirror. Instead of the classic black however, it was a rich, dark velvet red. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget costumes for you and Bucky.”

Steve tilted his head. “For Halloween? I didn’t know you celebrated.”

Tony shrugged. “The clan was too busy to care about mundane traditions around this time of year. All those netherworld portals opening up? As long as we stayed out of the way, we could get away with a lot. Me and Sharon snuck in a lot of trick-or-treating.”

“We bought a lot of trashy dollar store costumes and pointy hats.” said Tony. His gaze was far-off and wistful. “Me and Sharon always used to stuff ourselves sick the first night before we’d hide the rest.”

Steve tugged Tony into a tighter hug. He always got that same look in his eyes when he missed his cousin. Tony continued on, “Arno and Greg got twitchy every year trying to figure out where I hid my stash. They never did find it.”

“Where did you hide it?”

Tony grinned. “The one place they’d never look: Morgan’s room.”

Steve laughed, his tail twitching behind him in delight.“Why wouldn’t they look there?”

“She burned their eyebrows off once for surprising her. Mama had only laughed, telling them that served them right for not knocking. They always knocked after that. She’d always have a few minutes to hide any evidence before they stormed in.”

“Clever. What did she get out of it?”

“All the Snickers bars she wanted.”

Tony turned towards a tote bag Steve hadn’t noticed before, perched on the couch behind them. “I almost forgot, I got you and Bucky costumes too.”

Reaching into the bag, Tony grinned as he waved the small halo headband and white coloured wings. Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? An angel?”

“Bucky thought it would be hilarious and honestly it’s pretty funny. Hold still.”

Steve obediently bent his head down so Tony could place the headband on his head before helping him slip on the wings. The halo bobbed around over his head, swaying back and forth. Steve flexed his arms. “How do I look?”

“Angelic. I don’t think anyone else could work those wings like that.”

“Yeah, Steve isn’t a very good flier. Last time he flew, he literally flew into a tree-  _oww, you asshole that’s my face!”_ ”

Bucky rubbed his forehead, glaring at Steve as he walked into the room. Tony shook his head fondly, a twinkle in his eye. “Well speak of the devil.”

Bucky’s red ‘devil horned’ headband flopped over his hair. The plastic pitchfork that came with the costume was half slung over his shoulder. In his hand, was the crumpled up cardboard box Steve threw at him.

Steve rolled his eyes. “It was a pillow, it wasn’t even that hard you baby.”

“What if you got me in the eye?!”

“At least you would’ve seen it coming then.”

“Really? You really wanna go there punk?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve could see Tony shaking his head with a grin as he wandered to the kitchen. Before he could say anything however, a blur flew straight towards his face. Shooting out his arm, Steve grabbed the flying pillow out of the air, stopping it inches from his face. He flicked his arm back and with a spin, launched the pillow back towards Bucky. 

Back and forth they dodged and swung pillows at each other, screeching and laughing all the while.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Come talk to me on [tumblr](http://summerpipedream.tumblr.com/) or in discord in the [Winteriron Discord (18+)](https://discord.gg/Ct49uF5) server, or over in the [Stuckony (16+)](https://discordapp.com/invite/jtXcc3n) server


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